1 November 2018

In conjunction with our public sector Retain.Recruit.Recognise industrial campaign stop work meetings across the state, ANMF joined with our joint union colleagues on 24 October to coordinate Statewide Stop Work Meetings designed to support the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Change the Rules campaign.

The Change the Rules campaign is about highlighting how the Fair Work Act, which was introduced in 2007 to reform the industrial relations system in the private sector (Private and Aged Care in Tasmania), is broken. This system very much supports the employer over employees and disables unions and members to bargain for better working conditions. This inequity is most evident in the private sector across aged care where negotiating improved enterprise agreements is incredibly difficult and becoming a very lengthy process, which is further disadvantaging our members.

At the Tasmanian stop work meetings ANMF joined with public sector union colleagues to coordinate each of the stop work meetings across the state to support the Change The Rules campaign and also the Tasmanians Need a Pay Rise (TNAPR) campaign. The TNAPR campaign is aimed at getting the Tasmanian Government to scrap their 2% wage cap which is adversely affecting recruitment and retention for nurses and midwives and also has a flow on effect to driving down private sector wages.

ANMF were given the responsibility of coordinating the North West Regional Hospital stop work meeting which also coincided with the Retain.Recruit.Recognise stop work meeting for our public sector campaign. ANMF supported all of the stop work meetings across the State with ANMF officials charged with handing out postcards for signing to be delivered back to the Treasurer Peter Gutwein to scrap the 2% cap.

This joint union statewide action is unprecedented industrial action which has not occurred in over a decade. ANMF were proud to stand alongside their joint union colleagues and support members in advocating for this important cause. The Tasmanian stop work meetings were so well attended by ANMF members and their joint union colleagues that 4 of the Tasmania stop work meetings featured in the ACTU top 6 cities for turnout for the top five cities around 1 person for every 50 in this city attended (including children and those not in the workforce).

These meetings were St Helens, Launceston, Hobart and Devonport. So well done to ANMF members for showing such solidarity to our Government here in Tasmania and also in Canberra.

Through action, along with our continued public sector industrial action, and our joint union action, we have showed state and federal Governments that we won’t stand back while our nursing and midwifery professions are under attack. We will fight back!