Hostile to elated: Nurses overwhelmingly approve new pay deal

Victorian nurses and midwives have overwhelmingly approved a 28.4 per cent pay rise over four years, ending eight months of tense negotiations between their union and the state government.

The almost $1 billion deal comes a month after members dramatically rejected an in-principle agreement stitched up between the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Allan government.

Jubilant nurses and midwives show their approval for the new pay deal on Wednesday.Credit: Joe Armao

“It’s been a very emotional day, a great day,” Victorian secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick told reporters as she fought back tears following a statewide meeting of thousands of nurses and midwives at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The new agreement, which follows 51 days of industrial action, includes allowances for a change of ward, improved allowances for being on-call and revamped night-shift penalties. It also includes a right-to-disconnect clause so nurses and midwives are not constantly contacted to work shifts they do not want.

Fitzpatrick said the government had fully funded the deal, and that the agreement was not responsible for the funding difficulties faced by public hospitals.

“We’re not going to take any blame for any issues that health services might have with their funding,” she said.

“If they’ve got an issue with the Allan government, get up and speak and stick up for your health service. Don’t blame the nurses and midwives in this state, because they have deserved every single cent of that 28.4 per cent and more.”

A sea of nurses and midwives decked out in red T-shirts applauded the union stalwart as she addressed the crowd.

“We don’t have to wait any more, we have certainty,” Fitzpatrick told them.

The gathering was a stark contrast to the hostile scene that confronted Fitzpatrick at a statewide meeting in May, when thousands of members rejected a pay deal union leaders had expected they would approve.

Lisa Fitzpatrick, the Victorian secretary of the Australian Nurses and Midwives Federation, addresses members on Wednesday.Credit: Joe Armao

At the time, members said they wanted more certainty around wage increases, which would be affected by a pending Fair Work Commission decision on aged care nurse pay rises.

The new deal will need to be finalised, go to a members’ ballot and then be approved by the Fair Work Commission. The 2024 pay increases will occur in June and July.

Nurse unit manager Adam Bonser said he was very pleased with the new deal.

“In the end it was worth it,” he said. “We fought hard for this.”

Bonser said he had felt uneasy about escalating industrial action, which would have involved closing one in four public hospital beds. He said healthcare workers never wanted to shut beds.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the agreement provided fairer pay and conditions for nurses and would improve the state’s ability to retain and recruit them.

“This is absolutely backing in our nurses and midwives. They are the backbone of our health and hospitals system,” she said.

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