Workers' Liberty

Victorian nurses have begun taking industrial action is support of their wage claim. Last week, a mass meeting of nurses voted overwhelming to initiate the industrial action in support of their claim in the face of the state Labor government continuing to stall and dither in negotiations. As of last Thursday beds had been closed across the state, and patients listed for elective surgery turned away.

Victorian nurses are the worst paid in the country, and until recently, an exodus was Victorian nurses to interstate services had continued unabated for some time. A Division 2 nurse currently earns $17 per week less than their Queensland peer, $39 per week less than their New South Wales peer and $77 less per week than a similarly classified nurse in the Northern Territory.A Division 1 Grade 2 nurse earns $124 per week less than their New South Wales counterpart, whilst a Nurse Unit Manager earns $250 per week less than their New South Wales peer.

Under the State Government's wage offer of 16.25 per cent over five years (or 3.25 per cent a year) Victorian nurses will remain the lowest paid in the country. The offer is significantly lower than the ACT nurses' recent agreement - a 4.5 per cent increase backdated to March 2007 with a further 3.75 per cent in March 2008 and 2009. Whilst wage outcomes achieved up until 2005 have kept pace with other states and territories the situation has now changed dramatically. In particular, over the last two years nurses in Queensland and New South Wales have been awarded wage increases of up to 23 per cent during the life of their enterprise bargaining agreements.

The Australian Nurses Federation (ANF) log of claims is seeking a minimum 18 per cent wage claim over three years for all Victorian public sector nurses.

For the past two rounds of enterprise bargaining negotiations Victorian nurses have concentrated on securing initiatives that have improved workloads and patient safety, which have resulted in unprecedented nurse recruitment. In the past seven years the Victorian Government has recruited more than 7000 nurses, effectively ending the critical nurse shortage in this state.

A number of years ago Victorian nurses won a nurse/patient ratio, twenty patients for five nurses. Victoria is the only state in Australia with nurse patient ratios. The government is wanting to dismantle the nurse/patient ratio system, the first step is to give managers the discretion to staff under ratios.

The state Labor governments reasoning for not wanting to pay the nurses a decent and thoroughly deserved wage rise? Fiscal responsibility! That from the same government that throws money at the Grand Prix and provides massive tax breaks to big business like Jetstar and Ford.

After five days of the bans being in place the Labor government appealed to the Industrial Relations Commission to order the lifting of the bans. The IRC provided that order which the Nurses Federation duly ignored. The nurses are due to meet again on Thursday and the ANF leadership hope to have a package to put to the membership by that time, however the government is warning that they will seek Federal court orders that will see individual nurses, and the union, face hefty fines if they don't lift the bans. It remains to be seen if the state Labor government will proceed to the Federal court.

Interestingly, for all the tub-thumping by John Howard in the federal election campaign about the powerful unions controlling the Labor party he hasn't come out and kicked the nurses yet.

This is a dispute that is winnable for the nurses and if successful may push the door open for teachers, emergency service workers and public servants, enabling them to wring a better deal from the government.