Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries.
Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred’s hospital.
The threat came after the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) defied orders from the state’s Industrial Relations Commission to cease organising and refrain from action for the next three months – a defiance which the union acknowledged could lead to fines.
In discussions over a new pay deal, ASMOF has sought a pay rise of as much as 30% without specifying a time period. The Minns government has offered 10.5% over three years.
Ryan Park, the NSW health minister, on Wednesday conceded that doctors in his state had suffered “wage suppression” as a result of the previous Coalition government’s public sector 2.5% wage cap.
However, Park noted that several other public workforces, such as nurses and midwives, were simultaneously seeking large corrective increases and said the government could not realistically meet such demands in one year. He said granting the doctors’ union demands would cost the state $11bn.
Park said the pay rise doctors were demanding could see a $75,000 a year boost for some doctors already on $400,000 packages. But he later acknowledged junior doctors, who comprise the majority of the state’s workforce, could be on $78,000 salaries – $12,000 less than what they could earn in Queensland’s public system.
Park said asking a government to meet a 30% increase “in a single year” was “simply not realistic”. He was due to talk with the union again on Wednesday afternoon, and reiterated his offer to grant an immediate 3% rise in backpay – as a gesture to get senior officials to return to a two-week intensive period of negotiations for the broader deal.
The NSW government remains in a deadlock negotiating with rail unions seeking pay rises in excess of 30%. It has struggled to talk down demands from unions after agreeing to an up to 40% pay rise for police in November.
ASMOF’s NSW director, Andrew Holland, said doctors were striking for the first time since 1998 over unsustainable workloads, chronic understaffing, and unsafe working hours.
“The decision hasn’t been taken lightly. The decision is a last resort,” he told reporters outside RPA on Wednesday. He stressed that patient safety would be maintained, with critical care and emergency areas unaffected by potential staff shortages.
Intensive care specialist Dr Behny Samadi said doctors were at breaking point. “This is not something we want to do,” she said.
Samadi said the strike would not endanger patients, who would understand why doctors were taking action.
“We’re actually doing this for their best interest, because we want a well-functioning, sustainable public health system that treats them well,” she said.
While was not yet known how many doctors might walk off the job, Park claimed that if work stoppages proceeded, elective surgeries would likely be hit with disruptions.
“I understand doctors do not want to put patients at risk, I’m not making that accusation, but as the minister, I’ve also got to be very clear and transparent, in the same way that we were in nurses industrial action,” he sais.
“This does have an impact. Elective surgery will likely need to be cancelled. That does have an impact, and I can’t pretend that it doesn’t.”
– with Australian Associated Press
