After their long running “Respect” campaign, which recently saw two 24-hour hospital strikes, public sector nurses and midwives in South Australia are furious at the settlement that their union’s leadership is recommending for a Yes vote.
Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas boasted on social media that the agreement provides “a 16 per cent pay rise over a three year period”. But this includes the 6 per cent agreed before the state election in March, of which 4 per cent was paid at the start of the year. The 2 per cent balance from the pre-election commitment will be paid from October.
The latest offer would see payments of 3 per cent from January, 3 per cent from July 2027 and 4 per cent from July 2028. It’s far short of the 23 per cent by the end of 2027 that the leadership of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) SA earlier said would be needed to catch up with other states.
Just as insulting is the lack of improvements to conditions that members were fighting for. “Count the babies” has been a key demand throughout the campaign. It means babies should be counted as patients when determining staff-to-patient ratios in maternity wards. At the moment, only the mothers are counted. The proposed deal only sees the Government agreeing to a review of this practice.
Social media posts by the ANMF SA and government have been flooded with comments from angry members. One wrote: “Still not counting babies, no mandatory breaks after night shifts, not enough to retain experienced staff, and this offer is very vague. We are hemorrhaging senior staff from our wards and EDs [Emergency Departments] that leave junior staff left unsupported and compromises safety … Not only do we need a more acceptable pay rise, we want to advocate for our community, our patients and their safety.”
In a video announcing the deal, ANMF SA CEO Elizabeth Dabars argued that at the end of the agreement in July 2028, the union would “return to the bargaining table sooner in a stronger position with a stronger foundation”. But the key strength members have is being exercised now, by withdrawing their labour. Why wait for an uncertain future, when the union is just now getting movement from the Malinauskas government?
Disgust
One particular threat to the union’s future strength is that many members are talking about cancelling their ANMF membership, in disgust at this deal. The anger is understandable, but withdrawing from the union just leaves the government freer to have its way with nurses’ conditions.
A variation on this is a call by many for a vote of no confidence in Dabars. Yet this is still a diversion from the fight to actually win a better agreement.
All union officials, to a greater or lesser degree, have a tendency to move away from the viewpoint of their members, and towards that of the employers they spend their time negotiating with.
The answer is not to quit the union, but to strengthen union activity and organisation at the rank-and-file level, in every hospital, so members can continue to fight, and drag the elected officials behind them.
Teachers and school staff in Victoria have recently faced a similar situation, with their union recommending an agreement one activist described as “a real pay cut disguised as a pay rise, and inadequate changes in terms of conditions”. Rank-and-file organising saw that deal voted down with a 57.7 per cent majority.
An organised “Vote No” campaign is essential. Just as the teachers’ union officials did in Victoria, ANMF SA leaders will be putting their argument to vote for the agreement to meetings of members on site and online.
Dissatisfied nurses need to make sure spontaneous calls for a No vote are backed by solid information reaching every hospital and every member, preferably shared in person rather than just online.
Arbitration
The union leadership has raised the spectre of arbitration as a reason to support the agreement. They argue that if it is rejected by members, the government is likely to take the matter to the South Australian Employment Tribunal to decide, which could see significant delays, and a worse outcome than the current offer.
It’s true that arbitration is no friend of workers. But it too can be influenced by a workforce that is continuing to fight. The only real power workers have is their ability to withdraw their labour. Nurses have been escalating their use of that power with the recent strikes.
But they have still been holding back by restricting strikes to 24 hours, and one hospital at a time. They have made sure that not only are emergency cases dealt with, but scheduled non-urgent surgeries proceed as planned. There is plenty of scope for more determined strikes that create a serious political crisis for the government, and pressure it to deliver more.
Threats of legal penalties are possible if the dispute goes to arbitration and members still pursue strike action. But ultimately members have the upper hand because the government depends on them to deliver essential health services. Nurses are immensely popular with the public, who recognise how hard they work to care for us. In this situation, determination to face down the legal threats would still take members to a victory.
Victorian teacher activists are following up their “No vote” victory by calling on school-level union sub-branches to vote for a strike on 4 August, whether or not their state leadership backs it. South Australia’s nurses and midwives can pick a date and follow their example, to reject the government’s insulting offer, take back control of their union, and continue their fight for the respect they deserve.
In the face of the ongoing cost of living crisis, a victory for the nurses would show workers everywhere that there’s an alternative to accepting cuts to our pay. They are fighting for all of us.
By Robert Stainsby
