Tasmania’s hard working nurses and midwives will receive some welcome Christmas cheer following in-principle agreement between the Hodgman Liberal Government and Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) on a new wages agreement.
Under the agreement, nurses and midwives will receive a 2 per cent pay increase effective December 1, 2016, and another, December 1, 2017 – consistent with our wages policy.
It also includes:
- the introduction of a new position of Associate Nurse Unit Manager;
- a doubling of the professional development allowance;
- the provision of wet weather uniforms for community and outreach nurses; and
- an increase in maternity leave and other leave provisions, including an additional 10 days paid leave for those affected by family violence.
Our public sector nurses are a critical part of Tasmania’s health system.
Since coming to office, the Hodgman Liberal Government has employed an additional 140 full-time equivalent nurses, improved double shifts with the introduction of a cap, introduced legislation that extends mandatory jail sentences for serious assaults against nurses, increased graduate nurse placements and reinstated child health nurses into our schools.
We are committed to working constructively with the ANMF on a review of staffing models, and on new remote worker incentives to secure and retain nurses in areas like the Bass Strait Islands and the West Coast.