‘Kick in the guts’: Nurses and midwives march on SA parliament
Nurses and midwives are marching from two city hospitals to parliament house today. Hundreds more are catching buses from regional and suburban hospitals as one describes the government’s latest pay offer as “disrespectful”.
Nurses and midwives are marching from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in North Adelaide while others will take to the streets from the Royal Adelaide Hospital – nurses from regional and suburban hospitals will be bussed into the city.
The healthcare workers are fed up with government negotiations including yesterday’s pay offer rally organisers claimed “still leaves South Australian nurses and midwives as the lowest paid in the country”.
The Public Sector Enterprise Agreement Stop Work Rally is being staged outside Parliament House on North Terrace at 1.30pm today by members of the South Australian branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF SA), which represents more than 26,000 nurses and midwives across the state.
Registered nurse and ANMF SA branch counsellor Tash Billing said she was rallying today to demand respect from the government and “a decent and fair pay rise so that we’re not one of the lowest paid in the country”.
“I’m joining the rally today because, quite frankly, the offers have been disrespectful, not worth anything to us. They (the government) say we are valuable and important, but really, the offers don’t reflect that,” she said.
“We have so much support from the public, from our patients, but the government aren’t really showing that with their offer – I mean, it’s a kick in the guts.”
Billing wanted a pay rise in line with nurses in New South Wales, where the union appealed to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission for a 35 per cent pay rise over four years.
Billing told InDaily she often walked into work not knowing if there would be enough staff for the shift.
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“The biggest thing is not knowing whether you’re going to be short-staffed and then having the call come in during your shift, ‘Anyone want to do a double shift?’,” she said.
“Sometimes you feel guilty because that’s your colleagues there on the next shift … that you’re letting down because you’re not doing the double, but you’re so physically exhausted and you’ve got to look after yourself.”
Billing said nurses and midwives would continue to hold rallies until they were given a fair and respectful pay offer.
“If we’re severely understaffed, then we can be reported, and that’s scary for every single one of us,” she said.
“It is our jobs and registrations and our livelihoods on the line. So, we demand a respectful payoff and we demand better conditions, so it’s safer for us.
“Obviously, our patients are our number one priority; to make sure they are always safe … that is our top priority: to make sure they are cared for with the respect and care and empathy they deserve.”
Today’s rally comes as the State Government announced its latest pay offer of a 13 per cent pay rise over four years, bonus payments totalling $4500 and other incentives for nurses and midwives on Wednesday.
“Our nurses and midwives are the backbone of our health system, working incredibly hard every day to care for South Australians,” said Health Minister Chris Picton.
“They deserve a fair and reasonable pay rise, which is exactly what we are offering, plus bonus payments and other incentives.”
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The government also recently passed a new law mandating nursing and midwifery to patient ratios across South Australian public hospitals, one of Labor’s key election commitments.
Among the requirements, general medical and surgical wards in major Adelaide metropolitan hospitals would be mandated to have one nurse (plus a nurse in charge) for every four patients for morning and afternoon shifts.
“We have listened to our hard-working nurses and midwives and we’re introducing nurse-to-patient ratios across our hospitals,” said Picton.
ANMF SA CEO and secretary Elizabeth Dabars welcomed the State Government’s improved pay offer, which she said was due to the union’s ongoing negotiations and impending rally, but claimed it still leaves South Australian nurses and midwives as the lowest paid in the country.
She said it failed to meet the profession’s expectations for fair and competitive remuneration, recognition, and career sustainability.
“Nurses and midwives are the backbone of our health system. Every day they work tirelessly for their communities – and today we’re asking the Malinauskas Government to show up for them,” Dabars said.
“We are rallying to demand meaningful changes that will help attract and retain a strong nursing and midwifery workforce – professionals who deserve to be respected, recognised, and fairly paid for the vital care they provide every day.”
Dabars said the rally would have minimal impact on hospital services.
“In the absence of any impact, there’s no point in having the event. But, we have tried as much as practical to be respectful to the needs of the broader community in particular,” she said.
ANMF also rallied outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital on September 9, stating that the government’s offer of a 13 per cent increase over four years was not enough.
“What they (nurses and midwives) are looking for is a modicum of respect from the government and its representatives by way of a fair and reasonable offer that actually places them in a national and international market in the midst of a nursing and midwifery workforce shortage,” Dabars said at the time.
A government spokesperson said yesterday’s offer would represent “a real pay rise” for midwives and nurses.
“We remain committed to bargaining in good faith for a new enterprise agreement,” she said.
