Union slams ‘weasel words’ wages deal

The nursing union has hit back at claims it is being disingenuous in its wages deal talks with the state government, arguing the package had a lot of weasel words but was light on detail.

Yesterday, Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the union was the only barrier to the nurse-to-patient ratio it demanded after members rejected the government’s second wages offer.

The two have been at odds over the government’s offer, which includes a pay rise of 3 per cent, a one-off $3,000 payment and the implementation of mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios within the next two years.

The Australian Nursing Federation, however, is continuing the push for an increase of at least 5 per cent a year for two years, having already put a ban on overtime and vowing to move to rolling strikes. 

ANF WA chief executive Mark Olson told 6PR the minister’s comments were “ill-informed” and that the union’s polite negotiation style must have been misconstrued as “agreeable”.

He rebutted the minister’s claims that the union recommended members refuse the offer, highlighting 70 per cent of its membership rejected it and 71 per cent voted to continue with the industrial action.

In a later press conference, Mr Olson pushed for the negotiations to be streamed live.

“We’re sitting there trying to make most of what the government has put on table, but they won’t actually tell us what the ratios will be - there’s no detail,” he said.

“They are kicking the ratio can down the road.

“The minister is playing the man, not the ball.

“Is there anything in the proposal that gives immediate relief to our burnt out, frustrated and tired nurses and midwives? The answer is no.

“There are a lot of weasel words but no detail.

“What will the ratios be the day after the nurses sign the wages deal?

“Our negotiations are done in a very professional manner, we don’t bash the table; but don’t misconstrue that as being agreeable.”

During a press conference yesterday, Ms Sanderson said the government had negotiated the ratio clause with the union clause line by line and that the ANF had agreed.

“We have been negotiating in good faith with the ANF for the past few weeks and very intensively over the past two weeks,” she said.

“So, it is a little disingenuous of the ANF to suggest to their membership that they continue industrial action when they agreed to the clause in negotiations.

“This is a historic reform and change in the way we manage the workload of nurses and midwives in our health system.

“I think there are two campaigns going, one at the bargaining table and one with the membership.

“The only thing standing in the way of us implementing the nurse-to-patient ratios is the ANF.”

The union insists the second offer is almost identical to the first, with the ratios to be implemented over two years instead of three.

But Ms Sanderson highlighted that the two-year timeframe covered the entire health system, which comprised 800 sites across Western Australia.