Although the NFSA`s complaint was unsuccessful, the wage case resulted in benefits. In the course of the case, the salaries and conditions of some nurses were effectively improved. Admittedly, it was from a fairly low base. The application also led to successful negotiations with several general practice employers for a company agreement that would apply to their caregivers. An ANF agreement signed with Healthscope, the major employer of medical centers, will come into effect in mid-2013. These negotiated agreements should be welcomed and replicated by all employers. Recently, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) made its decision on the remuneration of general practice nurses. At the end of 2011, the NFB applied for a low-paid licence to bargain on behalf of general practice nurses employed in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. What followed was a lengthy hearing process involving general practitioners, employers, trade unions and experts from the general medicine and education sector. Shame on those who would see in the exploitation of nurses in general medicine an asset! The FWC`s decision to reject the ANF`s application was disappointing. But this was not the biggest reason for disappointment. For me, as a nurse, the reaction of our medical colleagues in the media has been much more worrying. Doctors and employers` groups alike have asserted victory with great enthusiasm.
Despite the FWC`s finding that nurses could not technically be defined as low-paid workers, the evidence that many employers paid the minimum premium to their nurses was not disputed. It is deeply troubling that doctors openly celebrate the exploitation of their fellow caregivers. General practitioners remain the lowest paid nurses in Australia. That`s certainly not a reason why you could hit each other in the back! In general practice, most of the time, the family doctor is not only the nurses` co-worker, but also their employer. I`d like to think that many family doctors just don`t know how many salaries and conditions they should provide to their general practice nurses, but unfortunately, that`s often not the case. General practitioners remain, knowingly or unt knowingly, paid significantly less than their acute care nursing colleagues. This happens although the required scope of care practice in general practice is as broad as in any other health sector. . . .
