ANMF Members Take Industrial Action to Protect Work Health and Safety
June 2025
ANMF members at the Department of Medical Imagining at the Royal Hobart Hospital have commenced industrial action as they have reached breaking point as a result of chronic understaffing, unsafe workloads and relentless fatigue.
ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) Acting-Branch Secretary Phoebe Mansell said despite ongoing efforts to resolve these issues since 31 January, 2025, the situation remains untenable.
“Members have made it clear – they are being forced to work unsustainable and unsafe hours, including excessive overtime and on-call rosters as frequent as every 2 to 3 days, far exceeding the agreed maximum of 1 in 6,” Ms Mansel said.
“These on-call shifts are stacked on top of full rosters that regularly run into overtime due to procedures frequently extending beyond scheduled hours.
“This is a clear and escalating work health and safety risk.”
Ms Mansell said ANMF members are calling for urgent action to protect themselves and their patients, including:
- Immediate funding and recruitment of required Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions, informed by a credible internal assessment of current staffing levels and future needs.
- The establishment of a 1.48 FTE Clinical Coach (Grade 4, supernumerary) to support staff education and safe workload management, especially in relation to on-call responsibilities.
- A commitment to reduce on-call rosters to a maximum of 1 in 6, in line with safe and sustainable practice.
- The formal implementation of a workload management tool, through a working group to be established via WISC.
Ms Mansell said members voted to commence Industrial Action from June 24, 2025.
“Members will:
- Refuse to undertake forced overtime, in order to manage fatigue and ensure safe practice.
- Cease performing non-nursing duties, allowing them to focus on critical clinical care.
- Take an additional 30-minute fatigue management break when rostered on-call, as a necessary health and safety measure.
“Our members are dedicated professionals doing their best in impossible conditions.
“This is not just about staffing numbers – it’s about keeping our nurses safe at work so they can keep their patients safe too.
“They have been more than reasonable and waited far too long. The time for urgent action is now.”
The ANMF is calling on management and the Department of Health to immediately meet these reasonable, safety-focused requests before further escalation is required.
Media contact: A.Mark Thomas, M&M Communications, 0422 006 732