Unity is the rising tide that lifts all boats

It’s been a difficult start to the year.

Many members across the state have been impacted by the bushfires, with hundreds of homes and properties destroyed. For some, this summer has opened old wounds as the traumas of the 2019/2020 bushfires, or of Black Saturday, have come racing back.

Thankfully, so far, loss of life has been minimal but summer is far from over. While the state remains on high alert, the Branch is providing targeted financial assistance and support for those who have lost homes or property, and we will continue to do so as needed over the remainder of the season.

Collective trauma hangs over the nation, too, as we continue to grieve the victims of the depraved Bondi terrorist attack, and recoil in horror as neo-Nazis use this abhorrent act to further fuel their targeting of migrant Australians.

First Nations Australians and allies are also recoiling after the attempted terrorist attack in Perth that only through sheer luck didn’t result in any injuries or casualties.

And sadly there has been some very challenging reports of occupational violence and aggression (OVA) in workplaces recently too. The Branch has been working with members affected by these awful instances, the repercussions of which can be long lasting. This trauma is not ‘just part of the job’. It is not inevitable. Evidence shows us that we can mitigate and prevent it.

Unfortunately, we know that many incidents of OVA go unreported. Staff are time poor, reporting systems are labour intensive, and too many members feel that nothing will get done.

But if you don’t report it, it’s guaranteed nothing will get done, so I urge you to report OVA every time. And report it to ANMF via our OVA notification tool every time too – if we don’t know what is happening in your workplace, we can’t be there to support you and ensure there is timely incident follow up with meaningful controls and support provided.

In the meantime, it’s important we all remember that while we see and work with other people’s trauma on a regular basis nothing can normalise traumas like these, whether individual or collective, local, state-based or national. I encourage all our members to keep checking in with colleagues, and with patients, residents and clients; and with yourselves.

The Nursing and Midwifery Health Program Victoria is available for all nurses, midwives, and student nurses and midwives who need extra support at this time, and ANMF is here for all members if you have questions or concerns about how these or any other traumas may be affecting you at work.

Against the backdrop of our local Australian challenges, many members have watched developments overseas with increasing concern – from the Iranian regime’s brutal mass killing of protestors and deliberate targeting of hospitals, healthcare staff and injured patients to the American government’s own targeting of protestors and apparent slide ever further towards authoritarianism.

The 24 January killing on camera of Minnesota-based nurse Alex Pretti by American ICE agents has resonated with many members because even though he was not killed at work, nor for being a healthcare worker – as those targeted and killed in Iran, Gaza, Sudan and other war zones may be – he was killed because he cares; because he was trying to help others. In other words, because of the tenets at the very core of our being as nurses, midwives and carers.

In the aftermath of his death, I sent a letter of solidarity and support on behalf of members to the Minnesota Organization of Registered Nurses. I expressed the Branch’s condemnation of the killing of healthcare workers in any circumstance, as well as the targeting of innocent civilians. I also shared our collective heartbreak for Alex’s family and friends, his nursing colleagues and patients, and for his nation.

As we watch the chaos currently engulfing America, and elsewhere, we are reminded more than ever of the need for unity lest we follow a similar path.

Unity, of course, is union business. Unity is respectful of our differences. It is empathetic and tolerant. It understands that when we stand together, we are stronger. Unity is the rising tide that lifts all boats.