Darebin child health nurses protest ‘mean-spirited’ offer

Nurses who provide vital free healthcare for mothers and babies in a northern Melbourne municipality are taking action against the council over poor pay.

Nurses who work to provide free healthcare for children in a municipality in Melbourne’s inner-north are protesting for better pay and work conditions by disrupting their work during appointments.

Almost 40 of the City of Darebin Council’s maternal and child health and immunisation nurses are taking protected industrial action as part of their campaign to secure a fair wage rise and improved working conditions.

The workers have been stopping work to explain their dispute to residents during medical appointments since May, in order to disrupt their work, after they were disappointed by Darebin’s wage offer in enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said that the industrial action protest was a “last resort” for Darebin’s nurses.

“Darebin City Council’s mean-spirited and convoluted wage offer disregards their nurses’ challenging pandemic work and the financial pressures they’re facing.

“Council needs to understand that a fair wage increase and improved working conditions are key to growing and retaining experienced maternal and child health and immunisation nurses to meet the needs of Darebin’s new babies, toddlers and young children and their families.”

Northcote mother Olivia Grabau, who has regularly used the service since November last year after the birth of her twins, said her experience with Darebin’s maternal and child health service had not been “smooth”.

“It hasn't been what I was led to believe it would be like … I’ve found that it’s inconsistent.”

Ms Grabau said she had been made to switch between clinic locations for appointments and received inconsistent advice from different nurses.

“I got the impression that there was understaffing … So I am not surprised and I can see why there would be issues with having continuity of care and if staff are dissatisfied and they aren't able to retain staff,” she said.

The union has been attempting to negotiate with the council to get a three-year agreement with improved entitlements and a 3.5 per cent pay rise for the nurses since September last year.

A spokesperson for the City of Darebin claimed the council’s maternal and child health nursing service had not been impacted by the industrial action.

“Council has made a fair and reasonable offer which both supports our staff and enables us to deliver more than 100 services to meet community needs.”