United Voice News
Peel workers reject insulting offer
Health support workers and enrolled nurses employed at the Peel Health Campus in Mandurah have rejected an appalling three year pay deal which managers say is not negotiable.
As cost of living expenses soar in the state, Peel is offering essential employees like ENs, orderlies, patient care assistants and cleaners just 1.7%, 1.7% and 1.7% rises. These workers have already gone without a pay rise for 16 months because of Peel management’s refusal to bargain in good faith.
These workers are also lagging behind their colleagues in government hospitals in terms of their pay rates and the rises come nowhere near the state government’s very modest CPI projections of 2.5%, 3% and 3% for the next three years.
'Losing money'
At a meeting last week, union delegates were told to accept their offer or leave.
In previous meetings Peel management justified their tight-fistedness by saying they could pay what they wanted because there was nowhere else in Mandurah for such employees to work.
The workers, who are among the lowest paid hospital workers in the state, want wage increases of 4.5% in the first year, and 4% in the second and third years.
Carolyn Smith, assistant secretary of LHMU said: “Effectively, Peel employees would be losing money if they were to accept this offer, so what does management expect?
“This offer is insulting for these hard-working, vital members of staff and goes nowhere near covering all the cost of living rises that low paid workers in this state are grappling with.
“We have been trying to negotiate in good faith with this employer for the last 16 months but we are being continually stonewalled in bargaining. In the meantime, the workers are getting no yearly pay rises.
Privatisation worries
“This is what happens when hospitals get run by private, profit-focused businesses.
“It’s a sign for all people who work in health of what could happen at the new Fiona Stanley Hospital. The government is planning to privatise support services at the new hospital and has already called for expressions of interest from the private sector to provide non-clinical services such as cleaning, security, and reception.
“If this is allowed to happen then it will obviously be on a bigger scale to the problems workers are having at Peel.
“This is a hospital that has made more than $40 million in profit over the last five years.
“This profit has been re-invested offshore and not back into the hospital or into the pockets of the hard working staff who keep the service running smoothly.”
