By STAFAN BRADLEY
NORMALCY has resumed at public hospitals across Victoria, after Health Workers Union (HWU) members voted to approve a new pay deal with the state government, ending industrial action that led to work bans and elective surgery cancellations.
The breakthrough means a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) has finally emerged after more than a year of industrial dispute.
Workers represented who will get a pay rise above inflation include orderlies, security guards, cleaners, ward clerks, CSSD (central sterile supply department) kitchen staff, theatre technicians and allied health assistants.
Inflation is currently at 3.8 per cent, with the new pay deal ahead of that at nearly five per cent annually.
Mick O’Brien, who works in hospital security and porting at Sale Hospital, told the Express the work bans were “officially off”, after the union agreed to the government’s latest offer.
“In effect, yes, the bans are lifted. We are back to normal,” Mr O’Brien said, acknowledging the backlog in operations at the hospital that need to be taken care of.
“But the work bans only applied to non-urgent surgery, so anyone who really needed it still got their surgery.”
Even before the overwhelming ‘yes’ vote, the union lifted work bans involving theatre and instrument technicians.
One of the HWU members had previously told the Express they were looking for a deal with “a five in front of it”. This deal fell short of that, but just barely, with a pay increase of 4.996 per cent per year, or a 12.49 per cent increase over two-and-a-half years. There will also be backpay dated back to December 16, 2025.
“It’s just a fraction under the five per cent, but it’s close enough. And the only sticking point in the deal was they only offered backpay back to mid-December … the back pay should go back to when the (previous) agreement had finished, which is over 12 months (ago),” Mr O’Brien said.
“We could have continued the action, but there was no guarantee that we’d get any movement on that anyway. It’s pretty much what we’re after. Let’s just take it and move on.”
Mr O’Brien said these EBAs are usually three-year agreements, but because the dispute lasted so long, this new one is only about two years. He said the government has committed to begin negotiations on the next EBA at the start of the next financial year.
Union members had overwhelmingly rejected two previous offers that had been made.
HWU lead organiser Jake McGuinness welcomed the new deal.
“Together, we have fought for and won the most significant EBA in our union’s recent history. Significant not only because of the scale of the outcome, but because of the way we went about winning it,” Mr McGuinness said.
“For those who have taken action, who have walked off the job to strike, who have had the hard conversations – this victory belongs to you.
“For the first time in many years workers will be getting ahead of the curve and will be better off in real terms.”
