Union members will take their concerns to the street with a community rally planned for Launceston on Saturday.
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Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmania members will walk from Launceston General Hospital to Civic Square, in an effort to raise awareness for ongoing industrial action.
Branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the rally would serve as an opportunity for nurses and midwives to directly engage with the community, and to share their concerns.
“This is an event in support of our nurses and midwifes, but it also to give them a platform to speak about why they have taken this industrial action,” she said.
“It is also to show why this action is important for their patients and the community, because it goes beyond just us.
“This is about ensuring retention and future recruitment of specialised nurses and midwives for our state.”
The ANMF first launched industrial action in March, with daily vigils held outside the LGH emergency department since July, calling on the government to address hospital pressures.
Most recently ANMF members working in LGH’s main theatres, resolved to ban overtime in relation to elective surgeries, as part of an ongoing enterprise agreement campaign.
Labor health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell said Health Minister Michael Ferguson had not attempted to speak with nurses, despite a campaign that had been going for more than 100 days.
“The on-going campaign by nurses across Tasmania is about the appalling conditions they are being forced to work under,” she said.
“But, at the core, their concerns result from a critical issue – a health minister who just refuses to listen."
Health Minister Michael Ferguson said he regularly met with nurses and the ANMF, visiting the LGH as recently as two weeks ago.
“We believe nurses deserve a pay rise and we also want to recruit more nurses in the state, which is why we have a fair and affordable offering on the table of 6 per cent over three years, and a plan to recruit 800 more nurses over the next six years,” he said.
Saturday's rally will commence at 12.30pm outside the LGH and conclude with speeches at Civic Square by 1pm.
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