Media Release: Victorian Nurses Reject EBA Offer - Demand Fair Pay and Conditions

Victorian nurses voted “No” to the latest EBA offer from the VHIA because they know a bad deal when they see one. Due to inflation and the wage cap, Victorian nurses have faced an effective pay cut year after year, including a zero percent pay rise in 2023, leaving many struggling in the current cost of living crisis. The ANMF, essentially one of the union arms of the Allan Labor government, can claim their members “haven’t been able to grasp the concept of the aged care wages case,” but the Nurses Professional Association of Victoria (NPAV) knows that nurses understand exactly how the union, in cahoots with the government, is trying to deny them a fair and deserved pay rise. The Victorian government's 3% wage cap policy must be removed for nurses to have any confidence that they will receive a real wage increase."

Nurses are leaving our crumbling health system in droves because they are overworked and underpaid. NPAV members say they are suffering burnout as a result of severe understaffing and poor skill mix. They worry about their safety regularly, with many stating there is a culture of bullying from management,” said Jenny Spencer, NPAV State Coordinator.

The ANMF is not serious about its members if they cannot even fight for something as basic as removing the wage cap. The NPAV is actively campaigning to remove the 3% wage cap to ensure Victorian nurses have access to real wage increases.

Kara Thomas, President of the Nurses Professional Association, said, “Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system. They are highly skilled professionals who have just worked through a global pandemic, risking their lives. They don’t want a deal that ‘could’ give them the 3% cap plus potential incentives that many may not be eligible for. They want and deserve a real wage increase that they can depend on.”

NPAV are also fighting for a return to locally run autonomous hospitals, through our “Go Local” campaign, where locally elected nurses are put back in charge of hospitals—nurses whose commitment is to their local community, not government-appointed bureaucrats whose allegiance is to the minister. The bloated bureaucracy is destroying health outcomes and is a monumental waste of taxpayer money. It’s time to fight back together and regain our power from the unions and their Labor masters. Join NPAV and join a movement of nurses fighting to change the status quo.

Media Contact - Adam Collyer -  adam.collyer@npaaservices.org.au 

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