Following on from the commencement of action to highlight the serious staffing issues in Medical Imaging, we met with the Department of Health yesterday to discuss what they plan to do to address the issue.
We told them that your leaders have tried to have discussions about a market allowance but without any success, and unless they get serious about better rates of pay, the issues are likely to get worse. We also told them the allowance needs to apply to all AHP positions in Imaging, not just to vacancies.
The Department told us they have already started the work to get a market allowance approved and will make the work a priority over the next few weeks. They have committed to providing an update at a further meeting on 24 May.
This is a good development, but we haven’t won anything just yet. Make sure you continue to tell patients and their families what the real state of play is and make sure that you take your breaks and don’t work overtime that you feel pressured to work.
We’ll update you on what happens at the next meeting and get delegates and activists to come to the meeting with us if they’re not too busy with patients.
It’s amazing how quickly things can change when you stand up with your workmates and say enough is enough. If you have any questions, please get in touch by phone on 1300 880 032 or send an email to HACSUassist.