Darebin MCH nurses holding placards outside Preston Town Hall during a stop-work rally in June 2023. Photo: Natalie Pestana
Darebin City Council maternal and child health nurses and immunisation nurses have been taking protected industrial action since 18 May 2023 as part of their campaign for a fair pay rise. Now they need your help.
The nurses initially voted to take action after negotiations between ANMF (Vic Branch) and council reached a stalemate after almost a year. ANMF remains willing and available to continue talks to reach a satisfactory resolution.
Following a couple of stop-work rallies, members are now asking for help from the community, and from their colleagues: nurses and midwives working for other councils, for private employers and for the public sector.
How can you help?
You can help by sending Darebin City Council CEO Peter Smith an email asking him to urgently resolve this dispute with fair pay and conditions that reflect the important work these nurses do. We’ve created a draft to make it easy: anmfvic.asn.au/Darebinnurses. All you have to do is add your name and hit send. Your data will never be on-sold or used for anything other than what is necessary for this campaign.
‘What Darebin maternal and child health nurses and immunisation nurses are asking for is a reasonable wage increase,’ Branch Assistant Secretary Madeleine Harradence said at a recent stop-work meeting. ‘When Darebin City Council’s CEO Peter Smith is paid $400,000 a year, to say that you don’t have enough money in the coffers for your workers is not acceptable.’
Members are seeking a three-year agreement with a 3 per cent pay increase or $45 per week (whichever is greater) from 1 July 2022, a 3.5 per cent increase or $45 per week (whichever is greater) from 1 July 2023 and a 3.2 per cent increase or $45 per week (whichever is greater) from 1 July 2024.
In addition to this modest wage increase, members are asking for an increase in allowances, two 10-minute tea breaks per shift, and time during work hours to undertake mandatory CPD.
‘These very qualified professionals – who are midwives, nurses, and maternal and child health nurses – are just asking for some time so that they can actually meet their professional obligations,’ Ms Harradence added.
‘It’s not a big ask. We think it’s pretty reasonable, given that our members are caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the community.’
The Council has rejected all our reasonable claims.
