The mental health workforce across the state from all public hospitals including Forensicare will walk off the job Tuesday 17th June. Workers from the in-patient units, continuing care units, aged in-patient units, community teams, emergency mental health teams, CATT teams and hospital outreach post-suicide engagement teams will all be taking part between 10AM and 4PM.
DETAILS:
11AM - Workers arrive at Victorian Trades Hall Council
11:45 - March begins
12:05- Workers arrive at Victorian parliament (approx - may be later, can keep posted.)
Workers will carry a large banner with broken hearts which says '772 too many' highlighting the suicide rate. Drummers will perform in honour of those who have lost their lives at approximately 12:40.
COMMENT:
HACSU State Secretary Paul Healey said: "Mental health workers have had it. It is clear that
this government does not value the critical work they do and have no real appetite for reforming the system. Our members will not stop fighting for each other, consumers and their families to deliver an equitable system for all. The government needs to stop trying to split our workforces with disrespectful offers or they'll face a reckoning".
BACKGROUND:
After 11 months of sustained and escalating industrial action across the State, the workforce has again been given a subpar, disrespectful offer that represents very little of the reasonable asks members have put forward. Furthermore, the government has attempted to divide our workforces by clearly offering funds, resources, and concessions to some disciplines, and denying them to others.
The latest offer embeds inequality within the mental health workforces and would condemn the Victorian community to a postcode lotto of service delivery. A staggering 97% of social workers and occupational therapists, core to the delivery of public mental health service delivery, have indicated that they will leave the sector if key demands put forward in bargaining are not actioned.
