❓ Ms Mettam questions the Minister for Health regarding industrial action by nurses, urging good faith negotiations. The Minister defends the government's actions, claiming they met the union's demands, particularly regarding nurse-to-patient ratios, and accuses the opposition of divisive tactics.
AnsweredQoN 789Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NURSES —
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
789. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I
refer to the 3 000 workers who descended on the Minister for Health's
office on Friday seeking an enhanced wages offer. Will the minister set
aside political foes and put the workforce first in negotiating their pay and
conditions in good faith?
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
789. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I
refer to the 3 000 workers who descended on the Minister for Health's
office on Friday seeking an enhanced wages offer. Will the minister set
aside political foes and put the workforce first in negotiating their pay and
conditions in good faith?
AnswerView source ↗
I think the premise of the question
is a bit pathetic and does little to value the work of our nursing and
midwifery workforce in Western Australia by reducing it to some kind of
imagined dispute between two unions. It is utterly ridiculous. We entered these
negotiations in good faith and sought to meet each of the demands of the
Australian Nursing Federation. Nurses were very clear that ratios were their
priority in negotiating, that managing their workload was a number one priority
and that they would reach an agreement if we introduced ratios. We provided a clear
agreement around ratios; in fact, we worked line by line on a two-page clause,
including escalation clauses and a whole range of clauses that would come into
effect on the day of the registration of the agreement, so not even waiting for
the full implementation of it. We went into enormous detail and efforts to meet
those demands. I am sad that it has reached this point and that the union
leadership is not actually being up-front about what is in the agreement that it agreed to at the commission.
I do not hear it talking about ratios. I saw a lot of signs from nursing staff wanting ratios. I think there is a genuine
misunderstanding amongst the membership about what this agreement is,
because we have met that demand and we continue to meet that demand. That is a historic
reform in our health system, and nurses have been seeking it for decades.
At each point we have acted in good
faith. At each point we have sought to improve nurses' working
conditions. We also have on the table a reasonable and responsible pay rise for
nursing staff that is more generous than that of almost any other state in the
country. For a level 1 nurse, it is over six per cent in the first year, and
across the two years of the agreement, it is about 4.4 per cent.
So, it is just not true. The member
for Vasse seeks to create more grubby, underhanded tactics and to divide. That is what the member for Vasse seeks to do, when
this is an incredibly important workforce. We value the work nurses do
and that is why we have negotiated in good faith with their union, the ANF,
which reached agreement with us before it essentially reneged on that
agreement.
is a bit pathetic and does little to value the work of our nursing and
midwifery workforce in Western Australia by reducing it to some kind of
imagined dispute between two unions. It is utterly ridiculous. We entered these
negotiations in good faith and sought to meet each of the demands of the
Australian Nursing Federation. Nurses were very clear that ratios were their
priority in negotiating, that managing their workload was a number one priority
and that they would reach an agreement if we introduced ratios. We provided a clear
agreement around ratios; in fact, we worked line by line on a two-page clause,
including escalation clauses and a whole range of clauses that would come into
effect on the day of the registration of the agreement, so not even waiting for
the full implementation of it. We went into enormous detail and efforts to meet
those demands. I am sad that it has reached this point and that the union
leadership is not actually being up-front about what is in the agreement that it agreed to at the commission.
I do not hear it talking about ratios. I saw a lot of signs from nursing staff wanting ratios. I think there is a genuine
misunderstanding amongst the membership about what this agreement is,
because we have met that demand and we continue to meet that demand. That is a historic
reform in our health system, and nurses have been seeking it for decades.
At each point we have acted in good
faith. At each point we have sought to improve nurses' working
conditions. We also have on the table a reasonable and responsible pay rise for
nursing staff that is more generous than that of almost any other state in the
country. For a level 1 nurse, it is over six per cent in the first year, and
across the two years of the agreement, it is about 4.4 per cent.
So, it is just not true. The member
for Vasse seeks to create more grubby, underhanded tactics and to divide. That is what the member for Vasse seeks to do, when
this is an incredibly important workforce. We value the work nurses do
and that is why we have negotiated in good faith with their union, the ANF,
which reached agreement with us before it essentially reneged on that
agreement.
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