WA Nurses Plan Nation-Wide Strike On Friday
"We're not going to wait”
Cameron Myles
Patients are being warned of disruptions on Friday when WA nurses plan to strike after rejecting the state government’s latest pay and conditions offer.
An in-principle agreement was met last week after an increase of some wages was secured, however the Australians Nursing Federation (ANF) rejected the offer today which included a $60-a-week pay rise for those earning under $104,000-a-year, or three per cent for those earning more, on top of a $3,000 sign-on bonus.
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Nurses will gather at parliament to demand a five per cent pay rise after 84 per cent of its 4,800 members voted against the offer.
"We're not going to wait any longer,” ANF Secretary Janet Reah said.
"This government needs to know that we are not messing around."
Ms Reah told the ABC there will be departments exempt from strike action.
“ED, the ICU, the neo-natal ICU, obviously emergency cases will be dealt with. the category one election surgeries will be the only one allowed,” she said.
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