Nurses at Albany Health Campus have walked off the job as part of Statewide strikes demanding pay rise

Nurses from Albany Health Campus walked off the job on Friday in solidarity with nurses from across WA as part of state-wide industrial action. The snap strike came after wage negotiations broke down between the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and the State Government. Despite the efforts of WA Health to call in additional clinically-experienced staff, hospitals across the state were understaffed by almost 500 positions with more than 300 surgeries postponed. “This unlawful and unpredictable strike has impacted hospital and patient care with the postponement of 338 elective surgeries since Thursday,” WA Health Director General Dr David Russel-Weisz said on Saturday. “However, due to the collective response of our dedicated staff across the system — as well as the State Health Incident Coordination Centre — being stood up, risk to patient care was minimised.” The WA Government has offered a 3 per cent pay rise which was refused by the ANF in a vote earlier this month. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the current wage offer is the “fourth and final”, which includes nurse-to-patient ratios, a $3000 one-off payment, counting babies as patients, and a $1200 mentoring allowance. Albany Health campus nurse Liz, who asked for her last name not to be used, said some of her colleagues were striking for the whole day, others were only doing so between 10:30 am and 1:00 pm. Liz said that a lack of staff was to blame for an unsafe work environment. “I work in theatre and we are sitting at under 60 per cent of staff, we probably haven’t been over that for the last few months consistently,” she said. “The only way we can get staff to WA is to have an attractive ratio and pay that competes with the eastern states. “We are really concerned, we know we are unsafe, we are doing clinical incidents reporting and risk reporting. “It’s got to stop, we are worried for ourselves, we are worried for our patients and we’re worried for our communities.” A state government spokesperson said the wages offer was one of the most generous in the country. “Under the policy and the offer, which the nurses’ union agreed in-principle, annual wage increases range from 3 per cent to 4.5 per cent plus the $3,000 one-off payment in addition to the $1,200 mentoring allowance.” The ANF is now pushing for a 5 per cent pay rise, having previously flagged it would compromise on pay if ratios were brought in. ANF State Secretary Janet Reah thanked those who walked off the job at a visit to royal Perth hospital on Saturday. She said staff felt forced to take industrial action and did not it do lightly. “A state-wide one-day strike was a short sharp action designed to allow the nurses and midwives to have a voice, be heard and demonstrate the depth of feeling they have regarding their conditions and pay.” Ms Reah spoke about the struggles faced by regional nurses and midwives. “The problem currently faced by Albany nurses and midwives is there is a very small pool of workers and the hospital is pressured to run as if it is fully staffed at all times instead of closing beds and cancelling surgeries,” she said. “This forces nurses to work overtime, double shifts and spread themselves thinly across too many patients or operating theatres. “When the nurses’ and midwives’ attention is divided in so many different directions, patient care and observations are missed or done late.” Ms Reah said that WA’s awards rates currently sat second from the bottom when compared to other states in Australia. “A 5% pay rise would shift WA nurses and midwives from second lowest paid in Australia to fourth place,” she said. “We cannot compete if the base pay rate is second lowest in the country.” The State Government warned the ANF any further action could compromise patient safety and urged them to get back to the bargaining table through the WA Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC). On Wednesday, the WAIRC ordered the nurses not to strike but the order fell on deaf ears.