‘This will bring public hospitals to their knees’: 1,000 NT hospital workers plan mass walkout
The mass walkout will include cleaners, caterers, personal care assistants, radiographers and sonographers at hospitals across the NT. Find out more.
More than 1,000 health support workers will be walking off the job in public hospitals right across the Northern Territory in the next 10 days union delegates warn.
United Workers Union members who work in health support services in NT hospitals have this week voted to take protected industrial action.
Over the next 10 days, droves of workers including cleaners, caterers, personal care assistants, radiographers and sonographers will be walking out of Territory hospitals in response to the ongoing NTPS general enterprise agreement negotiations.
United Workers Union (UWU) NT secretary, Erina Early, said the serious action comes as workers feel undervalued and unhappy with the proposed three per cent salary increase being offered.
Especially as under the former Gunner Government there was a wage freeze, she added.
“We’re expecting over 1,000 workers will walk off the job in 10 days,” Ms Early said.
“It’s pretty bad because if all the cleaners, the sterilisation staff, the caterers walk off the job this will bring the whole public hospital [system] to its knees.
“You cannot function without these support workers.”
In a statement in reaction to the news, commissioner for Public Employment, Nicole Hurwood, said this number is closer to 490 workers.
Speaking to this masthead on Thursday, Ms Early said staff want to be heard in the same way they feel NT Police officers have and encouraged the government to come back to the table.
“Yesterday the UWU health support services at all the hospitals around the Northern Territory voted to take protected industrial action,” she said.
“The workers here at the hospitals are pretty upset that this government is not recognising them as important parts of the public sector.
“Everything has been focused around the importance of police but no other public sector workers.
“I think what they really want to see is that someone is listening to them.
“They would like to see better wages put to them as we all know the cost of living in the NT is quite significant so they would like to see what the police got with their wage increase.”
In September, NT Police and the government agreed to a new pay deal which gives Territory officers a five per cent increase in the first year followed by four per cent in the second year and three per cent in each of the following two years.
On top of increased wages, Ms Early said health workers would like to see work health and safety issues addressed, fatigue management and staff shortages addressed.
“They just want a fair go that’s all they want,” she said. “At the moment they’re not getting that.”
“As we know NT Health is at a crisis level at the moment and we need to ensure we are attracting, retaining and rewarding these essential and valuable workers.
“Our health support workers are the backbone of the health system here and they’re feeling undervalued, disrespected and they really need to address the issues that they’ve got.”
NT Gov disagrees with walkout numbers but committed to reaching agreement
The commissioner for Public Employment, Nicole Hurwood, said they remain committed to reaching a fair new enterprise agreement and working to progress negotiations.
But she said the number of health workers who can participate in the strike action is around 490 members instead of 1,000.
“We remain committed to reaching a fair and affordable new General NTPS Enterprise Agreement, consistent with the parameters set out in the wages policy,” Ms Hurwood said.
“We are working with the assistance of the Fair Work Commission to progress and resolve enterprise negotiations.”
“271 UWU members voted to take Protected Industrial Action (PIA). As a result of the ballot, approximately 490 UWU members can participate in the PIA.”
As the industrial action looms, they stated measures are in place to minimise disruption to essential services within hospitals saying patient health and safety remains a “top priority”.
The UWU will be putting out the correct notice to the commissioner of public employment this week and are formalising the dates of the strike action.
However, the announcement falls during a week when Territory hospitals are under increased pressure with Code Yellow currently in place at Royal Darwin Hospital and Palmerston Regional Hospital.
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Originally published as ‘This will bring public hospitals to their knees’: 1,000 NT hospital workers plan mass walkout
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