Disgruntled WA hospital workers opts for work-to-rule following pay denial
Services on Western Australia's public hospitals were poised to be disrupted on Monday as thousands of workers opted for industrial action following the state government's decision to deny their $50 per week pay raise demand.
The 8000-strong Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union said that talks with the government about the requested payrise have essentially bogged down, forcing the workers, which mostly include orderlies, cleaning staff, catering employees and sterilisation technicians, to commence a work-to-rule campaign.
Union secretary Dave Kelly decried the government's offer of $19, saying that the overture was wholly insufficient and stressing that after three months of negotiations, "we don't seem to be any closer to the government putting a genuine pay offer on the table."
Mr Kelly claimed that at present, union members only earn below the $40,000 margin each year and that pay, he stressed, was not enough for workers to provide for their families and pay mortgages in light of the skyrocketing power and utility bills.
The workers' union called on the state government to modify its salary offer to a more acceptable level as union leaders warned that further denial of their pleas could lead to more industrial actions in the weeks ahead.
When reached for reaction, the Health Department merely said in a statement that the hospital workers' resorting to unfortunate actions were lamentable, noting at the same time that the decision was surprisingly made amid the busiest period of the year for government hospitals.