Pike Set For Fight With Nurse Union
The Age
Thursday April 26, 2007
HAVING survived the toughest test of her political career, Health Minister Bronwyn Pike is now set for a battle with the powerful nurses' union.
The Australian Nursing Federation is seeking a 6 per cent-a-year rise over three years for more than 28,000 nurses in Victorian public hospitals, almost double what the State Government is likely to agree to.Treasurer John Brumby has warned unions gearing up for public-sector wage negotiations that the Government's policy is 3.25 per cent a year, unless it can offset additional costs by cutting spending elsewhere. Ms Pike, who recently sacked the state's chief health officer after public-health problems, faces a fight with the union, which will argue that nurses in Victorian public hospitals are paid less than those in Queensland and NSW.Negotiations between the nurses and the Government have traditionally degenerated into work bans that have caused havoc in hospitals. In 2004 industrial action resulted in more than 1000 bed closures and a similar number of elective surgical procedures were cancelled. If the nurses take similar action when their current agreement expires in September, it will be the fifth time in 10 years they have taken significant industrial action.At the heart of the matter last time was the issue of nurse-to-patient ratios. The union now wants more improvements in ratios, this time focusing on emergency departments and maternity services - areas that have been under huge pressure.The current ratio in emergency departments is one nurse to three patients in cubicles, including resuscitation rooms. But the nurses want the ratio for patients in resuscitation rooms to be one nurse to each patient.For midwives who care for mothers and their babies, the ratio is one nurse to five mothers and babies in the morning, one to six in the afternoon and one to eight overnight. The nurses want one nurse to four mothers and their babies all day, one to six at night.Midwives' workloads were discussed in negotiations in 2004 but the nurses did not get what they wanted. Australian Nursing Federation state secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick warned it was essential this time. "I'm very confident that there won't be a settlement in the EBA until it is addressed," she said.Ms Fitzpatrick said it would be up to the members to decide if they would take industrial action. "I am confident that workload issues and addressing the wage disparity are uppermost in their mind," she said.A spokesman for Ms Pike, said: "The Bracks Government values nurses and is committed to supporting nurses. They've had considerable improvements in conditions over the past two EBAs."
© 2007 The Age