Media Release

27 March 2007

AWAs bad for nursing, bad for health

Nurses will not tolerate being forced onto Australian Workplace Agreements by stealth the Australian Nursing Federation warned today.

ANF Assistant Secretary Ged Kearney said the ANF supported the joint statement issued by Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd calling on the Howard Government to guarantee that it will not tie the Commonwealth funding of hospitals to the up-take of AWAs. The next Australian Health Care Agreement (AHCA) is due to be negotiated in 2008.

‘Forcing nurses onto AWAs would have a disastrous impact on the working conditions of nurses and also on the safety and quality of care of patients,’ Ms Kearney said. ‘Nurses make up over 50% of the health workforce. They want to care for patients not waste their time negotiating AWAs that cut their penalty rates and remove their shift and other allowances.’

Ms Kearney said any move to force nurses onto AWAs would lead to a worsening of the nursing shortage.

‘Any efforts the Government has made so far to remedy the nursing workforce shortage by increasing university undergraduate places will be negated by imposing AWAs on nurses.

‘Nurses will leave the public hospital system in droves if they are forced onto AWAs. That is the last thing we need. The Government should instead be finding ways to attract nurses to the system by improving their working conditions,’ Ms Kearney said.

Media inquiries
Jill Iliffe, Federal Secretary 0419 576 590
Ged Kearney, Assistant Federal Secretary 0417 053 322