Northern Territory allied health workers, health support staff to strike after rejecting latest government pay offer
Hundreds of health workers across the Northern Territory will go on strike after rejecting the government's latest pay offer following nine months of failed negotiations. Read the latest.
Hundreds of hospital and health workers will conduct mass walkouts from Territory hospitals amid an ongoing clash over the government’s latest pay offer.
Both the Health Services Union SA/NT and United Workers Union have confirmed the coordinated walk offs would start at 10am, Wednesday as part of Territory-wide protected industrial action.
HSU, representing allied health professionals and medical scientists, and UWU, representing health support workers, have declared the mass strike following more than nine months of negotiations with the NT government.
The health workers action comes as the future of more than 14,000 public servant’s pay packages remain under intense scrutiny over the proposed Public Service Enterprise Agreement, which initially capped wage and benefit increases at 3 per cent.
After 62 per cent of public servants voted down their first offer in September, the government took the matter to the Fair Work Commission.
The government has come back with an additional one per cent pay rise – an offer the HSU says would send Territory healthcare backwards.
“The Finocchiaro government is ignoring the risks they’re creating by not paying Territory’s health professionals a better wage. The health system will continue to literally and figuratively fall down on their watch,” branch secretary Billy Elrick said.
“Allied health are going to fall behind the rest of Australia. If we don’t pay our allied health professionals a competitive wage, they will leave for interstate.”
Both HSU and UWU members have been instructed to vote no to the offer, with the strike is planned for December 3.
Physiotherapists, radiographers, social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, dietitians, psychologists, sonographers and more will be walking off the job across every major hospital in the Territory.
Mr Elrick said skeleton staff would remain to ensure essential services could continue.
“The HSU is prepared to meet with Territory government representatives urgently to find a deal that works for everyone,” he said.
UWU Secretary Erina Early said the revised offer still failed to deliver real wage growth, address chronic fatigue, improve attraction and retention, or provide the conditions necessary to support the highly skilled workforce.
“(It) is about respect,” Ms Early said.
“Our members are the backbone of the health system, and they are saying loud and clear: We deserve better.
“This walk off is a united stand for fair pay, safe workloads, and conditions that reflect the critical skills hospital workers bring every day.
“It is a chance to send a powerful message to the Government — health support workers matter, their work matters, and they will not be ignored.”
Minister for Public Service, Jo Hersey responded to the walk-off by implying political games were at play.
“The Secretary of HSU SA/NT Billy Elrick, a known Labor operative, just endorsed a 13.5 per cent pay rise over four years for South Australia’s allied health professionals where there is a Labor Government but is protesting over a 13.65 per cent pay rise over four years in the Northern Territory where we have a CLP Government,” she said.
“Billy should’ve come to the bargaining table instead of playing political games over the pay and conditions of our hard-working allied health workers.”
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Originally published as Northern Territory allied health workers, health support staff to strike after rejecting latest government pay offer
