To work in private hospitals nurses and midwives want comparable wages to the public sector. They also want safe staffing levels comparable to the public sector. We are being told by private hospitals that they don’t have the money because the contracts they sign with private health insurers every few years don’t give them enough. In Victoria and NSW nurses and midwives are locked in disputes with their employers for better pay and to include safe staffing ratios in enterprise agreements. They are sick of being treated as second class health workers.     In the year to March 2024 the private health insurers combined profit jumped 34% to a record $2.13 billion (data released by the Aust Prudential Regulatory Agency). At the same time the proportion of premiums they are returning to their customers has fallen from 88.03% in 2019-20 to 82.61% in 2022-23.   In mid-2024 the Commonwealth Department of Health undertook a private hospital financial health check after complaints about ongoing viability of the sector. Minister Butlers own press release on 1 November said: “While parts of the sector have remained strong, there has been a reduction in profitability over time as costs have risen faster than revenue. This shows that there is substantial work for private health insurers and private hospitals to do to ensure the sector’s long-term viability.”   If nurses and midwives start walking away from private hospitals the system will collapse. If private hospitals can’t recruit and retain nurses and midwives then the system becomes unsustainable. If large private hospitals fail because costs outstrip revenue then the pressure is put back on an already overstretched public system. Love them or hate them, private hospitals are too big to fail.  The health insurers need to step up and fund private hospitals better.   Tell the private health insurers that its time to pay their fair share to private hospitals so they can pay decent wages and provide safe staffing. Insurers only care about the profits they reap, not the quality of the care provided for patients (or the working conditions of those who care for them).

ACL is offshoring its call centre to Malaysia in order to reduce costs.  Patients deserve better. They deserve to know that their information is secure, that their personal details and medical information remain private. Workers deserve better. A company funded by Australian tax-payer dollars should ensure jobs remain in Australia.  We also deserve better. ACL needs to put patients before profit. 

Students have expressed their concerns about the lack of COVID-19 mandatory isolation and would like to see UNSW, one of the leading institutions that prioritised COVID-19 research take an equitable approach on this matter. Vast amounts of research have also demonstrated that when healthy able-bodied students contract more severe variants of COVID-19, they are likely to develop underlying disabilities, develop a risk of acquiring long COVID and experience lifelong changes to their immune, respiratory, and other biological systems.

Hard working FTS staff need to be compensated for the range of duties they perform and they deserve to be provided independent evidence that they are being properly paid for the work they are doing. Independence in the Mercer review process is pivotal so FTS staff are confident that they are being compensated for the full range of duties they perform in Ambulance Victoria. FTS staff have waited 6months and can wait no more.

Veterinary students and practitioners are known to suffer from high rates of mental illness. This is especially the case at the university’s Roseworthy campus, where, in a survey conducted by the AVSMH, 27% of veterinary students reported experiencing suicidal ideation. The effects of mental illness are compounded by Roseworthy’s lack of transport and rural location. Such factors either dissuade or outright prevent students from seeking assistance. It is hence important for students to call on the university to provide satisfactory mental health support on campus. When signing this petition, don't forget to use your UoA email so we can prove that these are indeed genuine student demands.

In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of disappearing and presents more risks to health and safety than ever before. New variants like Delta and Omicron are tearing through our community and workplaces. With the risk of workplace transmission ever-increasing, we need strong measures to keep COVID-19 as far as possible from spreading within our university community. As numerous examples have shown, an outbreak at a workplace like ours where there are so many individuals coming and going can have disastrous consequences. Teaching delivery and research can be disrupted or even halted entirely, but the worst effects will be felt by us, the workers. We ask that ACU takes steps to limit the impact by consulting staff and implementing sensible measures. ACU senior management has arbitrarily set February 14 as the date for staff to return to campus. However, they have failed to undertake genuine consultation with staff regarding the potential risks associated with the return to campus and how these risks may be controlled. This has been highlighted by the fact that the University only released its COVID Risk Assessment document for consultation on February 10, just two business days prior to the return to campus.

Other people should join and help because young indigenous kids are being treated poorly and abused in the Don Dale youth detention centre. we need your help to free young indigenous kids from being tortured by the police help them be free, help them talk and see their families, help us close down that unfit detention centre.

The TWU has received an alarming number of reports from drivers and transport workers who are isolating because they are symptomatic or have identified as close contacts. In addition, we’ve had similar discussions with employers. These essential workers are unable to access PCR testing stations, or test themselves due to shortages of Rapid Antigen Tests. They remain in isolation and symptomatic for up to seven days without access to testing kits. This has resulted in severe driver and labour shortages, and dwindling stock in supermarkets and throughout the supply chain. With the rising infections, and without priority access to Rapid Antigen Tests, this situation will be catastrophic for the industry, associated industries and the public at large.

For the health and safety of registered nurses in Aged care

Cleaners have never been more important to society. We are on the front line of the battle against COVID 19. However cleaners are not being treated with respect during the pandemic. Large numbers of cleaners have lost their jobs under lockdown restrictions. Even worse, many cleaners who have lost work cannot access Jobkeeper or Jobseeker. The cleaning industry has largely been built on the backs of migrant workers, but Jobkeeper and Jobseeker are only available to Australian citizens. Cleaners should not be going hungry at a time like this. Let's take care of cleaners so that cleaners can take care of society.

It’s very hard to survive Only aged care workers are targeted There is no new case in South Australia and even in aged care This restriction is only for cares don’t understand the reason why only Carers Mask being mandatory for all personal care workers including the nursing staff so why still the care workers can’t work at multiple site

Water immersion is proven to reduce epidural rates by up to 70%. Epidurals can lead to longer labours, much longer second stages (more expiratory effort), increased risk of instrumental birth and therefore increased risk of PPH and longer hospital stays. If you want to reduce the pressure on our health system, keep birth normal and low risk and encourage non-medical pain relief. If your PPE gets wet, change it. Birth is a splash hazard already. Bodily fluids expelled into a bath, are kept away from HCWs and furthermore diluted. Listen to midwives, the ones who are providing the care!