Union out to protect 400 health jobs

THE jobs of 400 North Coast Area Health Service (NCAHS) employees remain in limbo after the Industrial Relations Commission this week withheld its decision on whether the job cuts could legally proceed.

Health Services Union (HSU) is fighting to have the redundancies overturned, with representative Ken McIntosh describing the proposed job cuts as 'slash and burn' and criticising the health service for its apparent unwillingness to consult with the union.

Mr McIntosh said there was a long way to go with proceedings but the union would never accept a reduction in staff numbers that resulted in a reduction of services.

In the meantime, however, Mr McIntosh said the union would attempt to continue negotiations with the service over the cuts.

“If NCAHS can prove its budget will not sustain current staff numbers, HSU will look at that provided it will not affect staff workloads or patient care,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Grafton Base Hospital 'insider' yesterday told The Examiner she was concerned about the health service's plans to close the six-bed high-dependency-unit catering for patients requiring a higher level of nursing care.

The insider described the move as 'a back-door way of reducing staff numbers'.

She also said it was time the greater-Grafton community 'got off their backsides' and protested about cuts to hospital services.

A NCAHS spokesperson said the Industrial Relations Commission 'made it clear' to the union that the service needed to operate within its budget and that wages were 'easily the biggest component' of that.

The spokesperson said the commissioner challenged the industrial associations to put forward alternative ways of reducing staffing levels if they were not satisfied with the service's proposals.

The matter is scheduled to be dealt with by the Industrial Relations Commission's on July 29. A stop-work meeting will be held the next day in front of Grafton Base Hospital between 10-11am to discuss the outcome of the hearing.

The public is urged to attend to make its views known.