More than 3500 Victorian health professionals and workers, members of four unions, struck and marched on state parliament on 16 June, calling for an above-inflation pay rise.
The Medical Scientists Association of Victoria (MSAV), Victorian Allied Health Professionals (VAHPA), Victorian Psychologists Association (VPA) and the Health Services Union (HSU) cover public health workers in allied health and ancillary jobs, like dietitians, hospital pharmacists, medical scientists, psychologists and therapists.
The state government has been stalling EBA talks with the unions for 14 months, with 50 supposed “bargaining meetings”.
Workers want a 28 per cent pay rise over four years—the same deal won by nurses—and better conditions.
Health workers’ wages have gone backwards between 11 and 15 per cent in the life of their past four-year EBA and then over a year of stalling by the former Health Minister, Mary-Anne Thomas.
Insultingly, the Health Department’s negotiators, under the direction of the Jacinta Allan Labor government, are offering the same old stale, below-inflation, state wage-cap of 3 per cent per year.
This would continue the pattern of workers, particularly female-dominated workforces in the state sector, having their wages held down as deliberate state government policy for more than 20 years.
The new Health Minister, Harriet Shing, appointed in mid-April, has not exactly come out of the blocks with any urgency to offer a decent EBA.
Indeed, when union officials said they wanted a pay rise which was the same as the nurses, Health Department negotiators’ response was, “Really? You are not nurses.”
Allied health workers are very often paid less than their nursing colleagues for similar work.
The HSU, MSAV and VAHP held a snap action in late May at the University Hospital in Geelong.
There was a follow-up snap action by the unions at the Royal Melbourne Hospital precinct in early June.
With the Allan government facing an election in late November the health unions have real leverage. But they will need to strike again to show how sick they are of low wages.
With teachers preparing for further strike action in their EBA campaign, there is potential for teachers and medical workers to strike together against the wage-cutting-policies of the state Labor government.
By Tom Orsag
