United Voice

Around 800 workers from Perth hospitals rallied at parliament house in a boisterous and colourful demonstration yesterday.  Workers in country hospitals collected hundreds of signatures on anti-privatisation petitions during the stoppages.

The cleaners, patient care assistants, catering staff, sterilization technicians and orderlies voted down the latest government offer of a 72c p/h rise and the privatisation of their own jobs at the rallies. When they returned to hospitals, they began participating in minor work bans once more.

The industrial action was designed to minimize the impact on patient care and was not taken lightly by members who are proud of the public hospitals they work in.

But members could be forced into taking further strike action if the government fails to respond with a better pay and conditions offer.

Currently the government wants to include a clause in the new deal which would allow them to hire all new staff on temporary and fixed-term contracts, paving the way for privatisation and destroying job security.

Health minister Kim Hames, whose government sits on an $830m surplus, was booed and heckled throughout his address to the workers, especially when he detailed the government pay offer.

Mr Hames confirmed that there will be privatisation at Midland Health Campus, Fiona Stanley and the new children’s hospital and that they may go into the next state election with a policy of privatising existing hospitals as well.

Dave Kelly, secretary of the LHMU, said the public were not told about the government’s plans to privatise the new Fiona Stanley hospital, Midland Health Campus and the new children’s hospital before the last state election so it was difficult to believe that Mr Hames would tell the public about any such plans before the next.
“In discussing the issue of privatisation, this government is saying one thing in public and quite another in private during our negotiations,” added Mr Kelly.
“This is because they know privatisation is unpopular with voters. The public know it doesn’t work.

“The Premier Colin Barnett has said that privatisation has been successful, but he has a very short memory. He was a senior minister in the Court Government when it privatised cleaning services at Royal Perth Hospital.  This led to a massive superbug outbreak, which saw 172 people infected and cost more than $2.1million to clean up.

“Mr Barnett should ask workers at hospitals like Joondalup and Peel Hospitals whether they think privatisation has been successful.  They have had their jobs privatised and their wages and conditions are significantly lower than workers receive in our public hospitals.

“The only people who privatisation has been successful for are the owners of the private companies Mr Barnett is trying to offload responsibility for our health system to.”

The work bans are:
•    Not moving linen;
•    Not emptying rubbish bins;
•    Not doing any sterilisation work for private hospitals;
•    Not picking up meal trays after patients have finished their meals.