Ramsay Health Care nurses say ‘no’ to charge sheets, non-clinical duties as enterprise bargaining drags on

Ramsay nurses are fighting back against extra duties as their employer points to “significant financial challenges”. Union member numbers are spiking as enterprise bargaining seems never-ending.

Ramsay Health nurses and midwives walked off the job at Port Macquarie Private Hospital as part of industrial action taken on August 1, 2024.

Ramsay Health Care nurses and midwives are saying ‘no’ indefinitely to writing charge sheets and non-clinical duties as enterprise bargaining enters its 16th month.

The action follows a four hour stop-work walk out at Port Macquarie’s Private Hospital on August 1 – resulting in Ramsay Health Care cancelling scheduled elective surgeries due to a lack of appropriate staff.

“While we respect the decision of our people to undergo protected industrial action, we’re disappointed that this action has now negatively impacted patients,” a Ramsay spokeswoman said.

Further north at Baringa Hospital at Coffs Harbour, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) are joining them.

“This has included not answering the phone during office hours, not completing ‘chargeable items’ documents, not emptying dirty linen skips, and not doing domestic duties,” Baringa branch secretary Melissa McDonough said.

“These bans are ongoing, until Ramsay are willing to offer staff a fair deal that demonstrates they value their nurses, who make up the majority of their workforce.”

Ramsay nurses at Baring Private Hospital in Coffs Harbour, Di Scherr after hours nurse unit manager, Melissa McDonough registered nurse and Tara Alamo registered nurse are calling for safer staff to patient ratios.

Ramsay argues its enterprise bargaining proposal “is competitive with public and private sector wages, and provides more flexibility, greater control and other benefits”.

But that’s not how the NSWNMA sees it.

“Ramsay’s most recent offer of 11 per cent over three years is well below inflation and does not address cost of living pressures,” NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish said.

“It will see Ramsay nurses and midwives in NSW paid up to 14 per cent less than their Queensland counterparts, and members fear they will be paid less than NSW public sector colleagues when their deal is struck,” she said.

Branch secretary for the Port Macquarie Private Hospital NSWNMA, Fiona Day, said the offer was “nowhere near what the public hospital is probably going to get and is well under Queensland and, well under Victoria.”

“As a result we’re losing very experienced staff to other states, other facilities like the public hospitals or NDIS, or to agencies because they get paid double or they move to other industries altogether,” Ms Day said.

“So it’s that drain of experienced staff as well that’s the big issue.”

Branch Secretary of the Port Macquarie Branch of the NSW Nursing and Midwives Association Fiona Day and Vice President Megan Jones at Port Macquarie Private Hospital on the August 1 stop-work walk off.

Meanwhile in Coffs Harbour, Ms McDonough said staff are worried about the cost of living with many facing high rents.

“We’re struggling to make ends meet so nurses are turning up to work stressed on how we’re going to pay the bills,” she said.

However, according to Ramsay Health Care it’s not only the nurses and midwives struggling with rising costs.

“Negotiating fair wages and conditions requires balancing our deep appreciation for the important roles our nurses and midwives play with the long-term sustainability of the company, at a time when the private hospital industry is facing significant financial challenges,” the spokeswoman said.

There has been an influx of 170 new members into the NSW Nursing and Midwifery Union last month and enterprise bargaining appears set to continue for some time.