If a recent survey of South Australia’s nurses and midwives is anything to go by, the state’s workforce shortage is set to worsen, with many fed up nurses admitting they’re considering a career change. But could a wage rise encourage them to stay? And Nina Hendy reports.

Nurses in South Australia are feeling the strain. Not only do local figures suggest that the health system is short around 500 nurses, but those sticking to their chosen career report that their calls for improved working conditions including a wage rise are being ignored.

It’s a grim situation that appears to have reached a stalemate, with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) (SA Branch) going out to bat for the workforce by speaking openly about the issues facing workers in a bid to bring about change. But whether the worsening situation can be improved before nurses leave their posts in search of a different career is yet to be seen.

According to the ANMF, nurses and midwives are deeply concerned about unsafe staffing levels and workloads, professional development and career opportunities, conditions of employment and work/life balance. Members are campaigning for a 9 per cent pay rise over three years, plus two payments of $600.

Currently, sector wage rates for enrolled nurses working in South Australia sit between $737.85 and $866.95, according to nurseinfo.com.au. Registered nurses/midwives at level 1 or equivalent earn $866.95 - $1155.90, which is slightly below comparative rates paid in NSW and ACT. The nurseinfo.com.au website, developed by the Royal College of Nursing Australia, explains that wages and conditions of employment for nurses in Australia are determined by various awards and agreements.

The site explains that minimum entitlements for employees are determined by industrial awards and enterprise agreements which detail the conditions of employment such as hours worked, pay rates and leave entitlements.

But South Australian nurses and midwives want more. Last month, the ANMF said that State Government representatives had been either unwilling or unable to respond to Public Sector Enterprise Bargaining claims submitted on behalf of South Australian nurses and midwives. Bargaining had been ongoing for four months. The meeting was held at the Government’s request, but it quickly became apparent that representatives are either unable or unwilling to provide a formal response or even provide a timetable for when a formal response will be made, ANMF (SA Branch) secretary Elizabeth Dabars said.

“Not only do we not have a response, we do not event have any further negotiations scheduled with Government representatives. This would appear to make industrial action inevitable,” Dabars told the media at the time.

“Nurses and midwives have been bargaining in good faith and we are deeply disappointed that this is not being reciprocated. If these issues are not addressed then community cannot be confident that they will receive quality or access to care in the future,” she said.

If the situation doesn’t improve, nurses have indicated that they could well choose to leave the profession in search of a different career. A survey of local ANMF members revealed that 37 per cent of nurses and midwives in South Australia will leave their profession if their real wages fall by 10 per cent. The survey was conducted by the Australian Institute for Social Research at Adelaide University in November last year and was commissioned by the ANMF (SA Branch) to establish how nurses and midwives might alter their working hours in response to changes in wages and conditions.

The survey also found that nurses and midwives would increase their weekly working hours by nearly eight per cent if their wages increased by 10 per cent.

But nearly 37 per cent said they would not continue to work in the nursing and midwifery professions if their wages fell by 10 per cent.

The main reasons for considering a career change were job dissatisfaction (44.9 per cent); working conditions (36.5 per cent), poor wages (31.5 per cent); and too much work outside standard hours (24.7 per cent).

The findings are of huge concern to South Australia’s health sector and local government given that South Australia is already short 500 nurses, with that figure expected to increase to as many as 3,000 over the next decade.

Dabars said the survey findings are deeply disturbing. “It’s clear that real wage cuts by failing to maintain competitive salaries in SA will lead to a loss of experienced nurses and midwives from the active workforce,” Dabars said.

“Equally, improving real wage levels will assist in addressing workforce shortages.”

Union delegates and officers gathered in early August to finalise recommendations over the industrial campaign, with a special meeting of public sector nurses and midwives held mid-August to consider and vote on the recommendations.

By Nina Hendy

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