Tasmania’s health union has suspended indefinite work bans following emergency negotiations with the state government after nearly 12 months of pay disputes.
The Health and Community Services Union called off 127 work bans that began Monday morning, costing the government an estimated $70,000 in just one day.
Union state secretary Robbie Moore said delegates voted to suspend the action after the government moved on several key issues and agreed to intensive negotiations over the next week.
“We got yesterday, finally, after a number of conversations over the weekend and negotiations on Monday, in writing from them, the parameters of the negotiations,” Moore told Pulse.
The work bans targeted government revenue streams, such as staff refusing to process Medicare payment paperwork and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medication claims.
Other bans affected patient transport and routine hospital operations, though Moore insisted patient safety was never at risk.
“This was industrial action that is targeting the government where it hurts,” he said.
“It was costing the government, even yesterday, about $70,000.”
Moore said the union represents about 4,000 allied health workers across Tasmania’s health system.
Moore said the breakthrough came after the government opened the door to back-paying employees to December and brought in a new negotiator with direct access to senior officials.
The union had previously rejected multiple one-year deals and demanded conditions matching those given to police, which delivered roughly 4% annual pay rises.
“We made it clear that we weren’t going to go below that,” Moore said.
About 75 workplace delegates from across the health system participated in Tuesday night’s vote to suspend the bans.
Moore said he was optimistic the government would negotiate in good faith after the lengthy dispute.
“This is a positive move and a bit of a circuit breaker,” he said.
