HUNDREDS of allied health professionals – including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, radiographers, sonographers, social workers and podiatrists – walked off the job for three hours at Peninsula University Hospital on Thursday 23 July, escalating a pay dispute with the Allan Government. Members of the Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association (VAHPA) rallied on the street outside the Peninsula University Hospital from 2.15pm. VAHPA has lodged a wages claim of 36 %, well above the government’s latest offer of between 19 and 21 %. VAHPA executive officer, Andrew Hewat, said the union had to balance the need for industrial action against its members’…
Browsing: Strike
A SMALL group of Dorevitch Pathology workers walked off the job outside Rosebud Hospital on Thursday, 30 April, joining colleagues at sites across Victoria in protected industrial action over a long-running pay dispute. Known as phlebotomists, they are the healthcare workers trained to draw blood from patients for pathology testing – the samples GPs, hospitals, oncology units and specialists rely on for diagnosis and treatment. Capel Sound phlebotomist Antoinette Anderson said the three-hour stoppage from 9am to 12pm drew supportive honks from passing motorists, with doctors, nurses, ambulance officers and police all acknowledging the workers as they passed. Some doctors…