St Vincent’s Private update #22: Members reject offer, which fails to resolve workload, staffing and safe patient care issues

CAMPAIGN UPDATE #22

DAY 82 OF PROTECTED INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Members reject St Vincent’s offer, which fails to resolve workload, staffing and safe patient care issues. 

Bed closures, rolling stop works and theatre closures to resume no earlier than 7am, Tuesday 18 February

ANMF members have unanimously voted to reject St Vincent’s Private management’s revised wages and staffing offer primarily because it fails to address workloads, staffing concerns and safe patient care issues.

The vote took place at the St Vincent’s Private members meeting on Friday 7 February after ANMF (Vic Branch) Assistant Secretary Madeleine Harradence and Senior Industrial Officer Leigh Hubbard presented St Vincent’s Private management’s revised offer.

ANMF Officers made it clear that from their perspective the wages/conditions components now formed an acceptable package (despite the rejection by St Vincent’s Private of any improvement to night shift and on-call allowances or a redeployment allowance from ward to ward).

However, ANMF had advised management that they could not recommend the staffing/workload component to members.

The revised proposal included:

1. a return of the 0.5 per cent to the wage increase, which was removed in the previous offer (so the wages offer was 11.5 per cent over two years, being 4.5 per cent from 1/2/25, 3 per cent from 1/7/25, 1.5 per cent 1/2/ 26 and 2.5 per cent 1/7/26). This would mean, for example, that at 1/7/26 the RN Grade 2 rate was $2090 compared to the public sector 1/11/26 rate of $2089.
2. an additional week of annual leave introduced from 1 June 2027 (no annual leave loading would apply to that additional week).
3. a staffing/workload clause (see anmfvic.asn.au/staffingappendix) which provides for:

• factors to be taken into account in determining staffing. This includes reference to ACORN, ANZCA and ACPAN standards, but St Vincent’s Private rejected a clause that said they would apply and staff in accordance with those standards.
• usual staffing structures such as DCS/AHC, NUM, ANUM (4 EFT of ANUM of which 3 must be permanently appointed)
• escalation/workload management processes
• staffing escalation triggers for certain clinical areas (birth suites, post-natal, paediatrics, Kew at night and neuroscience). St Vincent’s Private said that in these areas the triggers would result in an extra nurse being rostered on night between 36 per cent (birth suites) and 60 per cent (paediatrics) of the time. An ANMF proposal for an in-charge without patient load on all wards on night shifts was rejected and replaced with this proposal by St Vincent’s Private.

The offer retained the following conditions from the 21 November 2024 offer:

1. on call/recall: Clause 40 (a) close on call Theatre and Cath Lab arrangements to be extended to existing hospital sites.
2. EN Specialist: new classification scope to be settled enabling a larger cohort of ENs to be classified at a Level 3
3. redeployment allowance (campus allowance): $40 per occasion
4. compassionate leave: 5 days paid compassionate leave
5. personal leave certification: 5 single day absences without certification
6. long service leave: recognition of 12 months unpaid parental leave as service for the purposes of long service leave.

In addition, the offer contained the original features that were balloted in the EBA that was rejected by members in October 2024. These improvements included:

1. lead apron allowance
2. an extra week of partner parental leave
3. increased night shift allowance
4. improvement of family and domestic violence leave to 20 days
5. theatre floor coordinator paid at Grade 4B
6. improvement to CNS criteria
7. increased travel allowance payment of 30 minutes.

ANMF members said they were disappointed by the revised offer and considered the staffing escalation triggers too vague and complex, and it was unlikely that they could be used to resolve understaffing issues. While members appreciated the Nursing and Midwifery Consultative Committee (see draft staffing appendix) as an initiative, the meeting expressed a distrust of current escalation processes and noted that escalation rarely resolved staffing shortages.

Members are concerned that if St Vincent’s Private, which has some of the poorest private hospital staffing levels and highest casual rates in Victoria, does not address staffing concerns, then it will not be able to retain and recruit enough nurses and midwives.

Read the meeting resolution via anmfvic.asn.au/7febresolution

Status of industrial action: bed closures, rolling stop works and theatre closures to resume no earlier than 18 February

It is likely that ANMF will give St Vincent’s Private Hospitals five days’ notice for beds closures, rolling work stoppages and theatre closures to resume from 7am Tuesday 18 February.

However, it may be a later date if St Vincent’s Private agrees to continue discussions early next week about resolving the impasse on staffing/workload and those discussions are productive.

ANMF will hold a members meeting on Friday 14 February if St Vincent’s Private Hospitals makes a counter offer. This offer must include a simple proactive, rather than reactive, staffing mechanism to provide workload relief, particularly on night duty.

ANMF reminds members that protected industrial action continues. This includes:

• all stage one protected industrial actions (items 1–19 on the protected industrial action ballot order)
• refusal to undertake food services related to the delivery of meals, snacks or beverages (item 20)
• a ban by any nurse/midwife in charge of a ward or unit from taking a patient load (item 26)

ANMF will notify members next week if, and when, we are escalating back to full stage 2 actions.

 GOT A CAMPAIGN ISSUE OR INQUIRY

If you need to get in touch with your ANMF Organiser please contact them via records@anmfvic.asn.au.

If it is an emergency call the numbers in the emailed version of this update.

St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Fitzroy

Mike Stone (relieving for Mitch Hoover)

St Vincent’s Private Hospital, East Melbourne

Mike Stone (relieving for Mitch Hoover)

St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Kew

Narelle Hayes

St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Werribee

Hailee Love (relieving for Mitch Hoover)