The Australian, October 17, 2007 One in four public hospital beds will
be closed and a quarter of scheduled operations cancelled from this
morning as part of industrial action the Brumby Government believes is
illegal. Just weeks after industrial threats by the state's police
union delivered a big pay rise, thousands of nurses yesterday voted to
take the action, which will last until their pay dispute with the state
Government is resolved. They want a pay rise of 6 per cent a year over
three years and improvements to the existing laws on nurse-patient
ratios. The nurses have rejected Premier John Brumby's offer of 3.25
per cent a year for five years. ... Brumby

Grant McArthur, Herald Sun, October 17, 2007 Opposition Leader Kevin
Rudd today announced an $81 million plan to put an extra 9250 nurses
into Australia's hospitals. After touring the Mater Hospital in
Brisbane, Mr Rudd announced the initiative which would aim to attract
trained nurses back into the profession and provide for an extra 1500
graduate nurses. "This is a significant first step in Labor's long term
plan to meet the large nursing shortfall that currently exists under
the Howard government,” he said. "Australia's public and private
hospitals desperately need more nurses." ... Kevin

Australian Nursing Federation, Victorian Branch, October 17, 2007 The
Brumby Government’s EBA offer is set to increase pressure on Victorian
public sector nurses. This website is a place for nurses and their
friends, family and supporters to speak up and help make the Fund
Nursing Properly campaign a success. ... Stop

Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch), October 16, 2007 Four
thousand Victorian public sector nurses from across the state have
unanimously voted to take industrial action to pressure the Brumby
Government to start serious and productive negotiations and reach
agreement to improve wages and prevent understaffing in Victorian
public hospitals. The nurses and midwives, from public acute,
residential aged care and community health and mental health services,
made their decision at a statewide stop work meeting this afternoon at
Dallas Brooks Hall in East Melbourne. ... Nurses

ABC News, October 16, 2007 The Victorian Government says it will not
allow a nurses' campaign for better pay and conditions to compromise
patient care. Public hospital nurses have voted unanimously to begin
industrial action from 7:00 AM on Tuesday. One in four beds and
operating theatre sessions will be closed and work bans will be imposed
on community nursing, mental health services and aged care. Victorian
Health Minister Daniel Andrews says the dispute has been referred to
the Industrial Relations Commission. ... Vic

Ashley Gardiner, Herald Sun, October 15, 2007 Victoria's nurses will
vote this week on whether to take industrial action that could cripple
the state's public hospital system. A stop-work meeting will be held
tomorrow to decide whether to accept the State Government's standard
3.25 per cent offer. Members of the Australian Nursing Federation want
a 6 per cent rise over three years and an improved nurse-to-patient
ratio. Pressure is mounting on the State Government for public service
wage rises after last week's unexpected $1.3 billion budget surplus.
... Nurses

Ewin Hannan, The Australian, October 15, 2007 Nurses are threatening
industrial action, which would include bed closures, unless the Brumby
Government improves its pay offer by tomorrow. More than 1000 nurses
are expected to stop work tomorrow and could vote to take action unless
the Victorian Government gives ground in pay negotiations. The state's
nurses say they are the nation's lowest-paid and want a 6 per cent
increase annually over three years, as well as a commitment to improve
nurse-patient ratios. The Brumby Government is offering 3.25 per cent
per annum and wants to scrap mandated minimum nurse-patient ratios. ...
Nurses

The Age, August 10, 2007 Nurses from across Victoria will meet in
Melbourne next week to discuss what action to take in their fight for
better wages and conditions. The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) is
currently negotiating a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) with
the Victorian government. ANF state secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said the
union wanted a six per cent pay rise over three years for nurses, but
the government had offered 3.25 per cent. The government had also
called for the removal of penalty rates for some nurses in exchange for
annualised salaries, which the union said would result in lower wages.
... Vic

Christian Catalano, The Age, July 13, 2007 Nurses blaming unsafe
working conditions are closing more than a dozen psychiatric beds at
two hospitals in Melbourne's east, a move that could leave mentally ill
patients languishing in emergency departments. The Health and Community
Services Union says psychiatric nurses will start closing the beds at
Maroondah and Box Hill hospitals from today. The union's Victorian
assistant secretary, Denise Guppy, said the hospitals' refusal to
replace psychiatric nurses on maternity or sick leave had put remaining
staff at unacceptable risk. "There is a high risk of assaults in these
wards anyway," Ms Guppy said. ... Edgy

Carol Nader, The Age, April 26, 2007 Having survived the toughest test of her political career, Health Minister Bronwyn Pike is now set for a long and arduous battle with the powerful nurses' union. The Australian Nursing Federation is seeking a 6 per cent a year rise over three years for the more than 28,000 nurses working in Victorian public hospitals - almost double what the State Government is likely to agree to. Treasurer John Brumby has warned unions gearing up for public sector wage negotiations that the Government's policy is 3.25 per cent a year, unless it can offset additional costs by cutting spending elsewhere. ... Pike

AAP, October 20, 2006 ACTU president Sharan Burrow will today meet with nurses at a central Victorian hospital in a bid to help resolve a long-running dispute over staffing levels. Ms Burrow and Australian Nursing Federation Victorian secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick will visit Mount Alexander Hospital at Castlemaine, near Bendigo north-west of Melbourne, to support nurses in a campaign to have six additional nursing shifts assigned on the hospital's roster. The extra shifts would place a nurse in the emergency department each week day and boost the hospital's continence service from three to five days a week. ... ACTU

The Advertiser, October 19, 2006 Nurses at Mt Alexander Hospital will protest next week if their calls for additional staff aren't met. Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian branch) secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick yesterday said the accident and emergency ward at Mt Alexander Hospital was unstaffed during the week, with only one nurse rostered to work between 8.30 AM and 5 PM on the weekend. She said nurses working in the acute ward were forced to cover both departments. More than 50 nurses met with hospital management and an industrial relations commissioner on Tuesday. ... Nurses

Carla Danaher, Herald-Sun, October 7, 2006 The number of complaints against Victorian nurses has jumped almost 20 per cent in the past year. And the number of nurses suspended by authorities has also risen. The Nurses Board of Victoria annual report shows there were 162 complaints in 2006, compared with 136 in 2005. Nurse suspensions rose from 14 to 24. Complaints of misappropriation of medication almost doubled, from six in 2005 to 11 this year. There were also increases in complaints about nurses with alcohol or drug problems and mental health issues. ... Complaints

Michelle Pountney, Herald-Sun, August 26, 2006 Nurses at the Royal Children's Hospital met yesterday over fears that beds would be closed during renovation of new wards. But hospital management said their fears were unfounded and an extra bed would be opened in the redistribution. The Australian Nursing Federation says a 24-bed ward - ward five east - is being closed and five beds will disappear in the reshuffle of beds to other wards. ... Nurses

Suellen Hinde, Sunday Herald Sun, July 30, 2006 A nursing home has sacked most of its experienced nurses and replaced them with workers from the dole queue. Families of residents at Balmoral Grove nursing home in Geelong said the level of care had dropped since the changes that had led to the introduction of staff with as little as seven days' training. A meeting of residents and concerned families this week was told by management fewer nurses were needed at night. Fifteen nurses - some who have been at Balmoral for up to 20 years - have been replaced with personal care workers hired through Centrelink. ... Nurses