Mater Hospital workers go on strike and form picket line
Workers at the Mater Hospital Brisbane will go on strike tomorrow, Friday 16 July, and combined Unions including the Electrical Trades Union will form a picket line on the corner of Stanley St and Raymond Terrace in South Brisbane from 7:00am to 2:00pm.
The Electrical Trades Union, Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), CFMMEU, and Plumbers and Pipe Trades Union (PPTEU) Members will strike on Friday 16 July after an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) could not be agreed upon.
“Workers haven’t had a pay rise in over 18 months,” says ETU Organiser Scott Reichman. “We’re pushing for pay parity with Queensland Health workers. They do the same job, and they deserve the same pay.”
“These are essential workers who have been on the front line throughout the pandemic, protecting the community. They deserve to be treated decently, but Mater is instead treating them like second class citizens. Our requests are reasonable. We want pay rises to align with their public sector counterparts, and reasonable treatment at work.”
Tomorrow will see a combined Union picket line at the Mater, with Members from the ETU, AMWU, CFMEU, PPTEU, and the 12-foot tall inflatable rat, known to ETU Members as ‘Scabby’.
“These are front line, essential workers who put their own health at risk for the community,” says ETU State Secretary, Peter Ong. “And they aren’t asking for much, just reasonable and decent treatment at work, and to be paid the same as others doing the exact same job.”
“After 2020, we should be appreciating workers in the health sector more than ever. But this isn’t the case for Mater. They won’t agree to our reasonable requests, and continue to treat their workers poorly. They haven’t been responsive to our negotiations, which is why we’re taking industrial action,” says Mr Ong.
“We’ve been in negotiations for months and they haven’t acted in good faith, and haven’t put a decent offer on the table.” says Scott Reichman. “They’ve left us no choice but to have out Members strike.”
Mater workers have experienced poor working conditions including arbitrary shift changes. “Our Members’ shifts are being changed arbitrarily, and without any consultation from the workers. It’s unacceptable change workers’ shifts at random and without consultation,” says Mr Reichman.
ENDS
For more information, please call Scott Reichman on 0437 184 399or Kristin Perissinotto on 0448 633 858.