Vic: Aged-care nurses to vote on further industrial action
MELBOURNE, Aug 15 AAP - Victoria's aged-care nurses are today expected to vote to continueindustrial action in a bid for better pay and conditions.
Staff from about 100 aged-care centres have refused to bill the government for patientrebates over the past month to try to force employers into enterprise bargaining negotiations.
A nurses' spokeswoman today said private sector nurses were paid 11 per cent less thanpublic sector colleagues.
And increased federal government grants announced in the May 2002 budget were not filteringdown to nurses' pay packets, she said.
The work bans on documenting new patients have meant extra funding is not being sentto nursing home proprietors.
The bans had been effective without impacting on patient welfare, Australian NursingFederation (ANF) Victorian assistant secretary Jan Brownrigg said today.
Ms Brownrigg said some employers were now willing to negotiate, but she expected memberswould vote to continue the action.
"There is a critical shortage of staff in private aged care," she said.
"And the only way to recruit and keep staff is to offer pay parity and better conditions."
AAP svm/jlw/tnf
KEYWORD: NURSES VIC
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