Victorian Government school nurses have voted to take protected industrial action to campaign for improved wages and safe workloads.
School nurses will commence stage 1 industrial action from 9am 29 April. Actions include wearing ANMF t-shirts, handing out letters about their campaign to parents, a ban on redeployment and stopping work for up to 10 minutes to talk to parents and visitors to schools about their campaign.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) has been negotiating a new enterprise agreement for Victorian public school nurses since June last year and is seeking pay increases to match the Public Sector Nurses and Midwives Agreement 2024-28.
School nurses are currently paid up to 20 per cent less than equivalent public sector nurses working in hospitals. Under the government's current wages policy, the pay difference could be up to 30 per cent between comparable roles by the end of 2027.
There are 350 Victorian Government school nurses in Victoria. School nurses perform a critical role in promoting the health, wellbeing and development of students within Victorian Government schools from Prep to Year 12. In the Primary School Nursing Programs, school nurses support families with students in prep to identify concerns with health, wellbeing and development. In the Secondary School Nursing Program, school nurses play a pivotal role in preventative health through a focus on health promotion and planning, health education and individual health counselling.
They are an invaluable resource and referral system for students, teachers and families. School nurses are also employed directly by government schools, provide nursing care to students attending special schools, and provide acute primary health care to students, as well as helping to manage chronic health conditions. In every setting school nurses help to support children and families experiencing vulnerability or who are at risk.
Optimal health, wellbeing and development is the foundation for academic outcomes, and it is critical that school nurses are supported to help every student achieve their potential.
ANMF (Vic Branch) is also seeking a commitment from the Victorian Government to ensure the workloads of school nurses are safe and that the primary school nursing program is universally accessible to all Victorian families with children in their first year of school.
"School nurses are joining their teaching and education support staff colleagues in taking protected industrial action as a last resort because the Victorian Government must improve its pay offer. They are not worth less than hospital nurses," said ANMF (Vic Branch) Secretary Maddy Harradence.
About us:
The ANMF (Vic Branch) has over 111,000 members – nurses, midwives and aged care personal care workers – across the Victorian health and aged care sectors.
