Three of our members at Ramsay talk to The Lamp about the tough fight to win a fair pay rise and improved working conditions.

There was a pivotal moment at the beginning of the campaign which sent a message to Ramsay that “we weren’t going to agree to just any old offer they put on the table”, says Jess Griffis from Warners Bay Private.

“The first No vote at 81 per cent was a big achievement because it had never been done before,” she said.

“Then we had over 400 nurses and midwives show up at the Ramsay AGM outside the Sheraton in the middle of Sydney. It was a real show of force. And on top of that, about 80 of our members went inside because they are shareholders. After that Ramsay agreed to intensive negotiations.”

These actions weren’t spontaneous but the result of intense organisation in workplaces and cooperation between the branches.

“At Warners Bay, we worked closely with the Lake Macquarie branch as part of the Newcastle region group. Both of our hospitals had reps on the bargaining team. When people said, ‘We’ve got this issue at our hospital, how do you manage it?’ – you could swap ideas and experiences.”

Jess highlights the importance of strong branches: “Make sure you’ve got representatives in all your areas, in wards and units. At Warners Bay there were areas where we didn’t have anyone as a steward, but now we’ve got representatives everywhere.”

She says this strong organisation and spirit of cooperation bodes well for future campaigns.

“Going into bargaining next time, we will be more prepared, more confident in what we are doing, and we have the structures in place to pick up in the new campaign.

Personal growth and collective growth were the order of the day during the campaign at Southern Highlands Private, says delegate Ewan Gemmell.

“My hospital hasn’t had a branch before, and so it was a new experience to be involved in industrial campaigning. I didn’t really expect all the support I got, especially from nurses on the ward. Having a branch and being at the bargaining table helped people feel they were involved and had a say,” he said.

“When you are on the bargaining team, you are constantly in touch with people from the other branches, and that gives you a lot of support and encouragement. You can feel quite isolated at times, but being able to tap into the wisdom and energy of other people on the team motivates you.”

The impact of the actions inside and outside the company’s AGM were striking, he says.

“I think having members inside the AGM was a bit of a shock: we certainly outnumbered the other people who were there. One member got up and spoke about their experience of working at Ramsay, short staffing, and the difficulties they had to face.”

Ewan says he learnt a lot from his involvement in the campaign. “I really enjoyed being at the coalface, and seeing the process of negotiating an enterprise agreement was fascinating and a highlight of my career. We are representing the colleagues that we work with.

“I’m happy personally with the agreement. There are more things we need to do next time around to make it better, but this time around it was as good as we could get.”

Member action focused the minds of Ramsay management, says Anne Allsopp,  a midwife at North Shore Private.

“ The negotiations were really difficult, but after three No votes, Ramsay seemed a lot more engaged in negotiating with us. I think they did not want to risk going to another vote without having endorsement from our Union, which played in our favour.

“We were able to get a few more things over the line. We showed them we were a force to be reckoned with.

“One of the most effective things was the protected industrial action we took over billing for chargeable items, which nurses and midwives were left responsible for.

“Anything that affects Ramsay’s finances, they are obviously very sensitive about. We were able to take that action without impacting patient care.”

The company’s intransigence had an impact beyond the workplace, she says. “Overall, the public has been quite shocked at how Ramsay has treated midwives and nurses.

They are very profit-driven. They keep saying they can’t afford to pay, but they can’t make that shortfall off the backs of nurses and midwives. Hopefully, they will do the right thing now.” The campaign and its outcomes have had a positive impact on her workplace, she said.

“Workplace morale has improved incredibly, not because of any change in Ramsay, but because after two years of bargaining and protected action we have a united front, we have increased our membership and our means of communication. Our members are not frightened now: they feel they have a voice.”