Hospital workers in Melbourne, members of the Health Workers Union, walked out on strike and rallied at the new Footscray Hospital as Premier Jacinta Allan officially opened it on 18 February.
It was the third strike in three months in a campaign for a better EBA. HWU members include cleaners, admin staff, patient service assistants, theatre technicians and pharmacy workers.
Conah, a union delegate in the pharmacy department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, told Solidarity, “Everyone is willing to fight.”
The HWU has not organised strikes for 25 years, riddled with corruption among officials that has seen the union put into administration and the national office of the Health Services Union step in to take control.
So the current campaign has been a breath of fresh air. Ian, a theatre technician at the Royal Melbourne, told Solidarity, “The new organisers are doing a great job. It’s opened the door and given a real voice to the membership.”
But there were warning signs at the rally as HWU Lead Organiser Jake McGuinness announced an offer that the union said in a statement “it will be proud to recommend to members”.
The union had pushed for a four-year deal with pay rises of 6 per cent a year, to keep pace with nurses, doctors and ambulance workers.
The government has now offered a 2.5-year deal with a 12 per cent pay rise, a $1500 sign-on payment and back pay to December.
But as Conah pointed out, given the last EBA expired in July, the deal is basically for three years, making the pay rise just 4 per cent—barely matching the current rate of inflation of 3.8 per cent.
He said the officials were painting the offer as a win as management was no longer trying to abolish allowances. “But this just brings us back to the starting line. And the offer says nothing about conditions or classifications.
“We’re not just fighting for today but for EBAs in the future.”
The answer was more action. “People are angry with the government. It’s only been two months of industrial action. We want the union to amp it up,” Conah said. “I think we should reject this offer—we’re being taken for fools.”
Tech Collective
Ian said the union’s history of inaction made rank-and-file organising difficult but that some sections were starting to get organised.
Theatre technicians at Monash Health had launched a Theatre Tech Collective WhatsApp group, which had been organising to put pressure on the officials over issues like classifications.
“It’s in our interests to reach out to people in other areas—no one group of union members has the power to reject the deal,” Ian said.
“The history of the union is so poor that there’s little trust or confidence in the officials. People are still very hesitant.
“But there’s been an explosion of anger because of cost-of-living pressures.”
Health workers deserve better and would be right to reject this deal and put pressure on the officials to fight on.
With the Victorian state election on 28 November, Labor is keen to clear the decks. HWU workers should seize the moment.
By David Glanz
