7 January 2022
ANMF (SA Branch) first sought consideration of a recognition payment by the dept Health and Wellbeing in November last year.
This followed the adoption of an allowance system by the Andrews Government in Victoria to recognise the efforts of Victorian nurses and midwives who have been battling COVID for some considerable time.
A NSW hospital this week adopted a one off incentive payment to recognise the nurses that had returned from leave or cancelled planned leave to deal with the outbreaks in that state.
We continue to be in regular dialogue with the Department here, pressing for some measures that will recognise the additional stresses and strains associated with the pandemic workload s the outbreak develops further here.
We also recognise that such an allowance is only one measure that could or should be taken: we need to address supports emotional and professional, workloads, safety measures to name just a few.
This week the open letter by a nurse calling for action at a number of levels to support nursing and midwifery staff caught the imagination of many with more than 6000 supporters registering in the first 24 hours after it was published online.
The idea of an allowance or recognition payment was one of the measures suggested.
We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of these discussions and other negotiations related to COVID via our FAQ and information page here.
If you would like to view that online letter you can do so here.