By Ethan Benedicto
The endorsement by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation on the new 28.4 per cent wage increase also came with several other benefits and new goals for the union in the future.
Local Narre Warren South resident and enrolled nurse at Frankston Hospital, Casey Collier, who attended the meeting on 26 June, was impressed with the new proposal following the confusion of the previous gathering.
In contrast to the 20 May meeting, Ms Collier said that officials “listened to all of our feedback because our big complaint was that we had no information to go off prior”.
“This time briefly they told us what it was going to be about so we had an idea of what we were coming into,” she said.
With spreadsheets for guests detailing specific information, which included graphs on the wage increases to booklets on added benefits, Ms Collier said that communication had been much clearer with the process “much easier to follow”.
Mentioned added benefits for public sector nurses include a change of ward allowance which looks to compensate nurses and midwives when they are moved from their base ward.
This in turn encourages employers to move away from redeployment as a uniform rostering practice; this factor also plays into the other benefit of the right to disconnect clause, which Victorian branch ANMF secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said gives nurses and midwives “improved access to flexible working arrangements”.
“The right to disconnect means that nurses and midwives have the right not to be continually contacted by their employer to work shifts they are not seeking.
“This is happening all the time and if you say no you often feel guilty and if you say yes you get no time off to recharge,” she said.
Staff retention was a major issue that many establishments faced, with the ANMF looking at administering local workplace implementation committees – which includes the employers; ANMF and ANMF job rep representatives – to monitor the execution of new terms and conditions.
“The wage increases will help retain and recruit nurses and midwives, but so will the new and improved allowances and penalties,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.
There will also be improved night shift penalties for permanent nurses and midwives, as well as improved on-call and recall allowances.
Roughly 20 per cent of a nurse or midwife’s allowance and penalties are only for permanent staff, such as the new change of ward allowance and the additional night duty penalties.
“The proof will be in the pudding when employers can fill nurse/midwife patient ratios on the forward roster.”
Further improvements include a 92 per cent increase to the qualifications allowance by the end of the agreement (2027) as well as interstate public sector nurses and midwives relocating to Victoria having their service recognised for personal and long service leave.
Ms Collier attributed these changes to the ANMF’s perseverance, their collective effort of speaking to multiple parties and voicing their displeasure at a state-wide scale, with the results ultimately “giving us the opportunity to have control of our own lives again”.
“People were deferring from going part-time and full-time and going casual because they wanted to be in control,” she said.
Including workforce shortages, Ms Fitzpatrick said that nurses and midwives are still exhausted from the pandemic’s turmoils, adding that it has been difficult for those who are back in PPE considering the spike of patients with Covid and respiratory infection this winter season.
“Nurses and midwives continue to do everything they can to ensure safe, quality patient care.
“This EBA outcome respects the work they do, acknowledges their work during the pandemic and delivers on an overwhelming majority of their claims.
“We hope that as they start to see the benefits of this EBA outcome nurses and midwives are able to love their work again, not just feel like they are surviving,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.
