NURSES at Bacchus Marsh and Melton Regional Hospital, like their colleagues across Victoria, are celebrating after winning a long-running industrial dispute with the state government.
The nurses have won pay rises of at least 3.5 per cent a year, while protecting nurse-to-patient ratios.
They voted for the deal at Festival Hall last Friday after reaching agreement with the government early that morning.
Hundreds of hospital beds around the state were closed and more than 1000 elective operations were cancelled during the nine-month campaign, during which many nurses prepared letters of resignation.
A Bacchus Marsh nurse, who did not want to be named, said she was “very happy and relieved” with the result.
“It is a better than expected result,” she said.
“The overall outcome is that we have kept what we have had with a few minor improvements. We have maintained the ratios.”
She said patients would continue to receive quality care, but nurses remained the most poorly paid in Australia.
“It will affect the quality of the candidates that we can attract in the future and I feel sad that the fight became patient safety versus pay rise. I don’t think any other profession has to make that compromise,” she said.
Djerriwarrh Health chief executive Bruce Marshall said he was delighted the enterprise bargaining agreement was being finalised, and the hospital could continue to provide the highest-quality service.
