❓ Mr. Cook questions the Minister for Health regarding job security for Swan District Hospital staff following the opening of the privatised Midland hospital. The Minister reaffirms his commitment to retaining staff within the public sector.
AnsweredQoN 834Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SWAN DISTRICT HOSPITAL — RETENTION OF STAFF
834. Mr R.H. COOK to the
Minister for Health :
It has been some time, Mr Speaker.
I refer the Minister for Health to his assurance on 12 October
2010 that no staff at Swan District Hospital will be forced to work at the new
privatised Midland hospital, and that the minister, as he said, ''will
commit to retaining staff in the public sector if they so wish'',
providing staff with the option to work elsewhere in the Department of Health.
(1) Will the
minister today repeat his assurance that no member of Swan District Hospital
will lose their job?
(2) Will the
minister today extend that assurance and guarantee that no member of Swan
District Hospital will be subject to a forced redundancy as will be allowed
under the Workforce Reform Bill should they choose not to work for the private
operator of the Midland hospital?
834. Mr R.H. COOK to the
Minister for Health :
It has been some time, Mr Speaker.
I refer the Minister for Health to his assurance on 12 October
2010 that no staff at Swan District Hospital will be forced to work at the new
privatised Midland hospital, and that the minister, as he said, ''will
commit to retaining staff in the public sector if they so wish'',
providing staff with the option to work elsewhere in the Department of Health.
(1) Will the
minister today repeat his assurance that no member of Swan District Hospital
will lose their job?
(2) Will the
minister today extend that assurance and guarantee that no member of Swan
District Hospital will be subject to a forced redundancy as will be allowed
under the Workforce Reform Bill should they choose not to work for the private
operator of the Midland hospital?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) That
is what I said, and I am confident that it will still apply. The forced
redundancy package, though, is a special package that allows us to target
certain people. In many departments, some people have been given every
opportunity for redeployment within the system and have not been able to find a
position. With the growth in demand for services that we have with the
expansion of our new $2 billion hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital, and our
construction of the new Perth Children's Hospital, I am more than
confident that all those staff will be required within our existing system, so
I am more than happy to continue their employment. It must be remembered that
there will be a new 360-bed hospital right next door, the new Midland public
hospital, where there will be significant demand for staff. My view is that
many of those people who live around that hospital will be very keen to get
jobs at the new hospital and to stay in that area. Whatever the case is, we
will continue to employ those staff because we have demand for them.
is what I said, and I am confident that it will still apply. The forced
redundancy package, though, is a special package that allows us to target
certain people. In many departments, some people have been given every
opportunity for redeployment within the system and have not been able to find a
position. With the growth in demand for services that we have with the
expansion of our new $2 billion hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital, and our
construction of the new Perth Children's Hospital, I am more than
confident that all those staff will be required within our existing system, so
I am more than happy to continue their employment. It must be remembered that
there will be a new 360-bed hospital right next door, the new Midland public
hospital, where there will be significant demand for staff. My view is that
many of those people who live around that hospital will be very keen to get
jobs at the new hospital and to stay in that area. Whatever the case is, we
will continue to employ those staff because we have demand for them.
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