|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 Home Campaigns Your Rights At Work News
Nothing But Pain for Health Workers Under Howard09 October 2005The Health Services Union said minor changes to the IR package announced by the Howard Government were a token gesture that would not limit the very real harm it will have in the health sector. HSU National Secretary Craig Thomson said the government had ignored warnings about the danger of planned reductions in the rights of workers. "This is about creating a low-wage and over-worked workforce which would be a terrible move in the health sector," Mr Thomson said. "This package will do nothing to improve productivity, improve skills or address the acute workforce shortages which are afflicting the health and aged care sector. It is a recipe for work intensification, higher staff turnover and a serious reduction in morale. "We need a government approach that understands the demands of working as a frontline health worker, not one that seeks to give employers a way to undermine the wages and conditions built up to protect people working in the sector. "The fact that John Howard has refused to give a guarantee that workers will not be worse off now when he gave that explicit guarantee before he was first elected shows that he knows many people will be worse off. "The impact of these changes in the health sector could be dramatic. Thousands of people working in disability and aged care rely on the minimum wage case run before the IRC each year for their annual pay rise. The switch to the so-called Fair Pay Commission puts future pay rises in jeopardy. "Hundreds of thousands of health workers rely on their allowances, loadings and penalty rates to give them a decent income and compensate them for working around the clock in a high stress environment. "Everybody working in the health and aged care sector relies on the independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission, to be able to intervene and fix damaging disputes which cannot be allowed to drag on without resolution. "Union right of entry is also critical to ensure the smooth operation of health services around the country. Mr Thomson said HSU members around the country would be participating in the November 15 day of action to protest against the unfairness of the changes John Howard is proposing. Contact Details Health Services Union of Australia hsu@hsu.net.au |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU) |
|
