Public sector nurses and midwives at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide’s northern suburbs struck for 24 hours on 4 June, as their union escalated its long-running “Respect” campaign for a new enterprise agreement with the state Labor government led by Peter Malinauskas.
The SA branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Foundation (ANMF) held huge stopwork rallies outside Parliament House in October and February, as well as petition and work-to-rule campaigns, with smaller stopworks at individual hospitals.
The campaign’s distinctive purple caps, T-shirts, bandanas and placards have added to the visual impact of the actions.
Two lively rallies of strikers and supporters were held during the most recent stoppage. ANMF member Naomi was there and told Solidarity, “The government really hasn’t come to the party and been prepared to show the nurses the respect that they deserve.
“Nurses just want to be able to provide the best care that they possibly can, and have patients get the best outcome. And the only way you do that is by improving conditions.”
Wage parity with other states has also been a key issue. Before the February mass rally, the union stated that a 23 per cent pay rise would be needed by the end of 2027 for SA nurses and midwives to catch up.
At that time, following months of negotiation and industrial action, the government was offering only 10.75 per cent over three years.
“During COVID, we were hailed heroes and told please, take less of a pay rise to save the health system,” said Naomi. “And we all gladly did. And now we’re here just trying to get back where we should be.”
The 24-hour strike at Lyell McEwin had originally been scheduled for 19 February. It was postponed a week after the government took the dispute to the SA Employment Tribunal.
With the 21 March state election looming, the union accepted an “interim” offer of 4 per cent backdated to the start of the year. An additional 2 per cent from October was agreed and the planned strike was called off.
Negotiations restarted after the election but stalled, leading to the revived industrial campaign. The next 24-hour stoppage is planned for 18 June at the Flinders Medical Centre, with the central Royal Adelaide Hospital to be targeted after that if an agreement has not been reached.
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By Robert Stainsby
