November 1, 2024

Unions

ANMF Appointed to Medicare Taskforce

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The country’s largest union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), is pleased to announce that its Federal Secretary Annie Butler has been appointed to the Federal Government’s new Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.

Health Minister Mark Butler said members of the Taskforce would work together to identify key recommendations for the Government to deliver on its pre-election pledge to strengthen Australia’s universal healthcare system.

Ms Butler joins a range of health professionals on the Taskforce, including consumer, rural and regional and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives from across the country.

“I am delighted to be part of the Taskforce, to represent nurses, midwives and care workers across the country who work under the Medicare system each and every day,” Ms Butler said today.

“Too often, the previous Morrison Government failed to include nursing and midwifery professionals in “consultations” with health stakeholders. As a result, because nurses and midwives weren’t represented at the table, their voices and input weren’t recognised in the formulation of equitable health policies for all Australians. It’s therefore refreshing that the new Government recognises that importance of nurses and midwives in these critical discussions shaping long-overdue health reforms.

“The unrelenting experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only exhausted our workforces and significantly increased demand for health services and resources, it has revealed all the cracks in our health and aged systems which have been allowed to deepen over the last decade.

“Previous Governments cynically attacked Medicare, introducing ever-increasing co-payments, cutting many bulk-billing incentives and freezing rebates – making it harder for people to get the care they need and adding to the already-excessive workloads of frontline healthcare workers.

“Medicare is a wonderful scheme but it’s 40 years old and needs for meaningful reform so that it can continue to provide the best for our community – ensuring that healthcare is affordable and accessible for everyone, so every Australian can access care when and where they need it.

“We can only achieve this if we have genuine integration, consultation and collaboration with all key health stakeholders, so we can work with the Government to deliver improvements to Medicare for the benefit of everyone in the community.”

ANMF welcomes reinstatement of COVID Disaster Payments

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The country’s largest union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), has welcomed the Federal Government’s reinstatement of $750 COVID leave disaster payments for essential workers through the latest ‘winter wave’ of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Albanese made the decision this morning during a meeting of National Cabinet, following ongoing calls from the ANMF and its members for the emergency payments to be restored to support vulnerable workers.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said the reinstatement of disaster payments would allow the most vulnerable workers, without leave entitlements, to follow public orders and isolate if they contract COVID or need to care for others with the virus.

“We commend the Prime Minister Albanese and the Health Minister Mark Butler for listening and acting on our concerns. This is a really sensible decision which will allow casual workers to receive a payment to stay home and recover from Covid – and not spread the virus through the rest of the community if they are forced to go out to work,” Ms Butler said today.

“We are now facing a winter wave of COVID infections, which has already seen a worrying spike in the rates of hospitalisations. And it’s therefore crucial that our Federal, State and Territory Governments work with us to assist our depleted health and aged care workforce – which has been crushed by the impacts of the pandemic.

“Nurses, midwives and care workers need to be supported so they can continue to provide quality healthcare for all Australians when they need it.”

The ANMF said the Prime Minister’s announcement that the PALM scheme would be expanded to include the recruitment of workers from the Pacific in the aged care sector, could provide some assistance in addressing current worker shortages in the sector.

NSW Government ‘silencing’ public sector workers with proposal to increase fines for strikes

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The NSW Government has proposed new regulations that would increase fines for trade unions who take strike action not approved by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.

The proposal comes after months of failed negotiations between the NSW government and public sector unions like the NSWNMA, leading to numerous strikes and industrial unrest over pay and conditions.

Over the past 12 months, nurses and midwives, along with teachers, bus drivers, cleaners and other public sector workers have gone on strike demanding the government deliver a pay rise that keeps up with inflation and address key safety and understaffing issues across various sectors including health and education.

In response to public sector workers demands, the NSW Finance Minister Damien Tudehope has instead announced increased fines for strike action.

The new fines would now see trade unions fined up to $55,000 for strike action taken in defiance of an IRC ruling and up to $27,500 issued for each day after. While unions who repeatedly breach orders would face fines of up to $110,000.

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association Assistant General Secretary Shaye Candish has called the move by the government a ‘silencing tactic’.

“The government does not want to face the realities of our health system and this silencing tactic is just another attempt to punish nurses and midwives who are speaking out in the name of patient safety.”  Shaye Candish, NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary.

“Teachers, nurses and midwives and the majority of public sector workers are women. Women who have been working tirelessly throughout COVID, caring for our community in the hospital system or teaching our kids under extraordinary circumstances. And these women are fed up with this government telling them to sit down, be quiet and put up with unmanageable workloads and low pay.”  Shaye Candish, NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary.

Under NSW laws, the NSW upper house can vote down any new regulation within 15 parliamentary sitting days. The regulation is expected to be voted on in early August with Labor and the Greens aiming to block the government’s regulation.

They will however need the support of independents or the Shooter Fishers and Farmers to defeat the NSW government’s latest attack on unions.

Unions NSW have mounted a campaign to lobby the crossbench in the NSW upper house, calling on them to reject the government’s regulation. You can find out more about the campaign and sign the petition here.

Hunter New England found underpaying senior ED nurses

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Nursing staff who manage the state’s busiest emergency department at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital have won a long running fight to be paid their correct wages, following a ruling in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) today.

Two years ago, NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members discovered they were being underpaid for their roles and responsibilities in comparison with other Level 6 emergency departments in NSW and sought a regrading by Hunter New England Local Health District.

The Local Health District refused to acknowledge the senior registered nurses were being paid at the wrong classification, which led to the NSWNMA filing a dispute in the IRC.

NSWNMA Acting Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said today’s IRC decision was extremely satisfying for the members involved, but warned it was another disappointing example of health bureaucrats refusing to listen to highly-skilled clinical nursing staff.

“Naturally, our members are thrilled by today’s decision in the IRC. These Nurse Unit Managers should now be recognised and paid for their substantive role within the ED nursing team at John Hunter Hospital,” said Mr Whaites.

“It was clear from the beginning our members had been working in a Nurse Unit Manager role, but the Local Health District had chosen to incorrectly classify them as registered nurses with a small in-charge allowance.

“We should not have had to drag the Local Health District and our members through a long IRC process for this outcome, as it was clear these senior nurses should have always been recognised and remunerated in line with their counterparts in other Level 6 emergency departments.

“We are grateful common sense has prevailed and the ongoing efforts of our members recognised, particularly given the challenging work environment they have had to endure, even before the pandemic.”

The IRC has ordered that the correct classification of ‘ED Coordinators’ at John Hunter Hospital is a ‘Nurse Unit Manager 1’, and has directed both parties to discuss the how the new classification will be implemented and to prepare underpayment orders.

ANMF Calls on Government to Keep COVID Payments For Workers

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The country’s largest union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), is calling on the new Albanese Government to reverse a decision to scrap COVID leave disaster payments, which have supported frontline workers throughout the pandemic.

From today, workers who cannot work due to COVID-isolation requirements, will no longer be entitled to receive emergency payments of between $450-$750 a week.

ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, said it was crucial that the payments remain in place to allow people to follow public health orders and stay in isolation if they contract COVID or need to care for others with the virus.

“We are now two and half years into the pandemic, and while everyone wants it be over, it’s not over. In fact, we’re heading into a potential ‘winter’ wave – clearly demonstrated by the current increase in COVID cases and a worrying increase in hospitalisations. With many public health measures now being relaxed, we need to ensure that everything is done to support the whole community to abide by the restrictions still in place,” Ms Butler said.

“Every state and territory currently requires COVID positive people to isolate for 7-days. We need to make sure that every person is able to do so. If we don’t, as we saw at the beginning of the pandemic, workers who aren’t supported to stay at home and isolate because they can’t afford to lose money, will continue to spread the virus further. Our health system simply can’t bear this extra pressure.

“Nurses, midwives and care workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic since the beginning of 2020 and are continuing to work under extreme pressure – not just from the burden of COVID but also dealing with rising influenza cases, overwhelmed emergency departments and the ongoing crisis in aged care.

“We must learn from previous mistakes. Supporting people now will save money and, most importantly, lives in the long run, which is why the Government should be protecting the community by continuing to financially support people who are forced to isolate for 7-days,” Ms Butler said.

“The ANMF is imploring the Albanese Government to reverse the decision to cut the COVID payments. It’s a common-sense solution which will help workers adhere to public health orders and assist essential workers like nurses, midwives and care workers to care for the rest of the community and keep them as safe as possible – at a time when we are all at risk of new infections.”

Nurses and midwives send passionate plea to government for ratios

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Frustrated and fatigued, nurses and midwives have declared they will continue their fight for safe staffing ratios across NSW, voting in favour of sustained and escalating industrial action until excessive workloads and widespread burnout is addressed, and better pay achieved.

Thousands of NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members joined a Special General Meeting to openly discuss their current wages and conditions, health announcements in the state budget, and the NSW government’s ongoing refusal to introduce shift by shift ratios.

Addressing the meeting NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, acknowledged the anger and dissatisfaction members had expressed towards the NSW government over its lack of genuine support for the nursing and midwifery workforce.

“Our members have spoken, and they are extremely upset with this government. They are frustrated by the government’s abhorrent treatment of their female-dominated professions, and for ignoring their pleas for safe staffing ratios to be introduced,” said Mr Holmes.

“During every opportunity to meet with the government, we’ve outlined how our members all want to be working in a health system that actually delivers the best possible patient care that all communities rightly deserve. It is not unreasonable to seek safe and transparent minimum staffing.

“I’ve certainly not heard workplace stories as harrowing as what we are constantly hearing now, and the longer this government refuses to sit down and discuss a meaningful path forward, more nurses and midwives will continue to leave our state, or leave their professions all together.”

NSWNMA Acting Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the members were loud and clear about their desire to continue the fight until systemic workload and work health and safety issues were resolved.

“Our members are exhausted. The moral injury they have described is real and very raw. They are deeply troubled by the government’s constant dismissal of their concerns,” said Mr Whaites.

“Nurses and midwives do not have anywhere near enough resources now to deliver the care patients need, let alone enough clinical educators to support and supervise the nurses and midwives of tomorrow.

“The government’s announcement on additional staffing numbers are questionable. We’ve been advised that 2,700 nurses and 165 midwives may be added to the health system, but 1,026 of these were from the 2019 election commitment that’s still to be delivered. Most concerningly, we understand this allocation represents years one through to three of the government’s latest announcement. We are far from convinced that these numbers are what is needed for safe patient care in NSW.

“Our members want assurances that improvements to their excessive workloads will be achieved and they want safe staffing ratios on every shift, in every ward, in every hospital and every community healthcare setting. They need staffing numbers that are transparent and accountable when they show up for their shifts day and night.

“We stand with our members and we’ll continue advocating for safe staffing ratios for as long as it takes.”

During the Special General Meeting, members called on the NSWNMA to pursue a pay increase of 7 per cent in light of their extreme working conditions and inflation.

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