Healthcare workers gathered at Peninsula University Hospital on 20 January to call for better pay.
The demonstration took place on the same day that the hospital’s new 12-storey building officially opened its doors.
The Health Workers Union’s negotiations with the state government for a pay rise have reached an impasse. The Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association is locked in negotiations with the Health Workers Union, with assistance from the Fair Work Commission.
On 12 January the HWU announced that workers would close one in every four hospital beds, cease cleaning of non-clinical areas, and suspend the training and onboarding of new staff.
A statement from the HWU read that it “rejected a below-inflation pay offer in December and has repeatedly sought to meet with the government to avoid escalation, but has received no acknowledgement or engagement from the minister’s office.”
Health Workers Union lead organiser, Jake McGuinness, said “this industrial action is an unfortunate necessity because of the Victorian Government’s consistent and callous disregard for essential workers’ needs.”
“These bans are targeted and carefully designed to protect emergency and critical services, but they will cause widespread disruption,” he said. He confirmed that the bans don’t apply to emergency care, and that children and pregnant mothers are exempt from the surgery bans.
The HWU’s strike is scheduled to run from 7am on 14 January until midnight on 1 February.
A statement from a Victorian Government spokesperson read that the “Department of Health continues to work with the Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association and the Health Workers Union to minimise disruption to critical patient care.
“We will always back our dedicated healthcare workforce and the extraordinary care they provide to Victorians who need it most. Hospitals have contingency plans in place to maintain critical patient care and safety during this protected industrial action. Emergency care and essential clinical procedures will continue.”
First published in the Mornington News – 20 January 2026
