Thursday 28 November 2024, from 1pm, Carlton Gardens, corner Nicholson Street and Victoria Parade Photo opportunity – St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Fitzroy nurses and midwives with gather outside the main entrance at 12.45pm and walk to Carlton Gardens. Nurses and midwives from St Vincent’s East Melbourne, Werribee and Kew will arrive by bus after 1pm.
Hundreds of St Vincent’s Private Hospitals nurses and midwives will stop work for more than two hours on Thursday 28 November as part of an escalation of their unprecedented protected industrial action campaign.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) is negotiating nurses’ and midwives’ wages and conditions for members at St Vincent’s Private Hospitals in Fitzroy, East Melbourne, Werribee and Kew.
St Vincent’s Private management has so far refused to address ANMF’s claim to address understaffing and high patient workloads by introducing mandated, minimum nurse/midwife patient ratios across its four hospitals.
Victorian public hospitals have had minimum ratios in the enterprise agreement since 2001 and in legislation since 2015. The Victorian Government has legislated improvements and further increases will occur in the current term.
In 2023, St Vincent’s Private Hospitals agreed to ratios in their NSW enterprise agreement for St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Sydney; Mater Hospital, North Sydney; and St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Griffith.
ANMF (Vic Branch) Acting Secretary Madeleine Harradence said ‘Patients paying high health insurance fees would be surprised to learn there are fewer nurses caring for them on the wards at St Vincent’s Private Hospital than at the public St Vincent’s Hospital.
‘A surgical ward at the public St Vincent’s Hospital must roster at least one nurse for every four patients on the morning and afternoon shift, but the same specialty next door at St Vincent’s Private Hospital could have a nurse caring for five, six or more patients. A public sector post-natal ward must have one midwife for six patients on night shift but at St Vincent’s Private it is usually one midwife to eight or nine and on occasion it can even be one midwife caring for up to 10 new mums and their babies.’
ANMF is also seeking pay parity with public sector nurses and midwives including new and improved allowances and more than 40 improved entitlements and working conditions.
About us:
The ANMF (Vic Branch) has more than 105,000 members – nurses, midwives and aged care personal care workers – across the Victorian health, mental health and aged care sectors.
