Canberra Hospital’s Medical Imaging union members will place a 48-hour ban on overtime from midnight tonight. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members of Canberra Hospital’s Medical Imaging Department will commence a 48-hour ban on overtime from midnight tonight until midnight Thursday (10 to 12 October).
The CPSU brought the industrial action after pay negotiations with the ACT Government and Canberra Health Services failed to meet the union’s expectations.
The union says Medical Imaging’s staff numbers have been dropping steadily as the public sector is unable to compete with public sector imaging services in other jurisdictions.
“The pay and conditions of Allied Health professionals in the ACT are significantly behind what is on offer in other jurisdictions, as a result, it is difficult to attract and retain staff and current employees are paying the price,” CPSU National President Brooke Muscat said in a statement.
The union says the reduced staff numbers have led to a reliance on a significant amount of overtime to meet demand and called on the ACT Government and Canberra Health Services to work with the union to address the falling retention rates by improving the pay and conditions of Allied Health Professionals in the ACT.
“The ACT Government has a decision to make – continue to lose high quality, caring and experienced staff to other states, or fight for them to stay here in the ACT by coming to the table on pay and conditions,” Ms Muscat said.
“CPSU members in Canberra Hospital’s Medical Imaging Department have seen their colleagues burn out, leave the ACT, or leave the health service altogether. If this issue is left unaddressed, we’ll soon enough see patients left without adequate public health care in the ACT.
“Canberrans need and deserve high quality, local care, but right now, the ACT Government is letting that slip through their fingers.”
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