Archived Media Releases: 24 October 2007

ANF supports Tasmanian nurses’ stand against insulting pay offer

The Australian Nursing Federation today expressed support for the industrial campaign being run by public sector nurses in Tasmania.

Jill Iliffe, ANF Federal Secretary said the Tasmanian Government’s 2.5% per year wage offer is insulting and will see Tasmanian nurses lagging behind the rest of Australia.

“The Tasmanian Government should honour its previous commitment to provide Tasmanian public sector nurses wage parity with nurses in other states and territories,” Ms Iliffe added.

“I understand the commitment to wages parity has been discounted by 4% to take into account Tasmania’s cost of living being less than that in other states. This is a ludicrous approach that will not address nursing recruitment and retention problems in Tasmania and is not being applied to other Tasmanian public sector workers,” Ms Iliffe said.

Ms Iliffe also called on the government to retain the nursing workload tool and noted that similar tools are now contained in nursing public sector agreements in all other states and territories.

Ms Iliffe urged the Tasmanian Government to make a sensible wages offer to nurses in Tasmania, to bargain in good faith, and to stop trying to reduce nurses’ working conditions.

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

The ANF, representing 150,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses and midwives in Australia