Fund Nursing Properly - For a better state of health

Nurses have successfully protected and improved Victoria’s mandated minimum nurse patient ratios and achieved competitive wages that will keep nurses nursing in this state.

Nurses become nurses because they want to make a difference and care for the ill, the injured, the elderly and the frail. Only nurse patient ratios allow nurses to deliver this level of care and the Victorian community is the winner from this agreement.

The fantastic success of this campaign has come with a significant personal cost to thousands of Victorian nurses. As a result of taking industrial action nurses have lost a substantial amount of pay with many losing more than half their pay.

Under the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws it is illegal for ANF to ask the Victorian Government to repay the docked wages. ANF has established a fund to assist nurses who find it difficult to meet their financial commitments as a result of fighting for a better health system.

Please donate generously so ANF can care for the nurses who care for you.

Talks are continuing come to the ANF members-only statewide stop work meeting for a full report
ANF continues to be hopeful that a new agreement can be reached that can be recommended to members at this afternoon’s 2pm statewide stop work meeting at Festival Hall, West Melbourne. Members are also reminded Federal Court fines are not directed at individual nurses. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you to everyone who has sent in their support to the ANF office. Please also keep sending your messages of support for the Victorian nurses’ campaign to properly fund and safely staff our public hospitals to the Victorian Premier John Brumby and the Health Minister Daniel Andrews. Read the rest of this entry »

Proceedings in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
Negotiations continued on Monday 22 October 2007. Whilst some progress has been made, the State Government is still refusing to address key areas relating to nurses’ salaries and nurse patient ratios. Read the rest of this entry »

Australian Industrial Relations Commission Update
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has granted the Victorian Government’s section 496 orders under the WorkChoices laws to stop the Victorian nurses’ industrial action. The orders are effective from 7am today. This development comes as no surprise to Victoria nurses. With all due respect to the AIRC, the Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) is obliged to follow the directions of ANF members, as contained in the resolution of 16 October 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Negotiations commenced yesterday in the AIRC. Negotiations are continuing today and we are able to report that the negotiations thus far have been fruitful. ANF is committed to negotiating for as long as necessary to secure a reasonable and fair enterprise agreement that addresses nurse patient ratio requirements and salaries and working conditions for nurses. Read the rest of this entry »

Proceedings in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
Conciliation has commenced this morning at 9.30 am in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Read the rest of this entry »

The parties start talks tomorrow
The Victorian Government has agreed to enter into conciliation in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission this afternoon. ANF hopes this will pave the way for fruitful negotiations that can resolve this dispute before the statewide meeting at 2pm, Thursday 25 October at Festival Hall, West Melbourne (note details about our bigger venue can be found by clicking the newsroom link at the top of this page). Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you to the hundreds of people who have flooded ANF with emails and calls supporting the nurses and expressing their shock at the tactics being used against nurses by a Government that supposedly is opposed to WorkChoices. Your support means a great deal to nurses at this extremely difficult time. Read the rest of this entry »

At some stage in your life, you, a family member, or a friend have relied on, or will need, the expertise and dedication of Victorian nurses. Read the rest of this entry »