SA public doctors to strike if pay deal cannot be reached, union says
South Australia's doctors will consider walking off the job if pay negotiations with the state government cannot be reached, the union says.
The South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) and the state government have been negotiating on a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
But union members voted on Wednesday to reject the government's current offer during a one-hour stop work meeting, SASMOA president Laura Willington said.
The government's current offer includes a 10 per cent pay rise for doctors over the next three years, while the doctors union has been pushing for 30 per cent.
Pay for junior doctors is also a key issue being negotiated.
Dr Willington said more stop work action across local health networks had been planned for the week of July 21, and that members had also voted for plans for a full-day strike on July 30 if the government did "not come to the negotiating table with a more appropriate offer".
"We are ready to reach an agreement but the current offer was universally rejected today by all of the members at this meeting so we need a more fair and reasonable offer," she said.
"And we want the government to take notice that our members are not going to accept the current offer."
South Australia's Attorney-General, Kyam Maher, said the government appreciated the "crucial work" of those in the public health system and believed its offer was "fair and reasonable".
Mr Maher said the government was "keen to keep negotiating" with the union, but the idea of a 30 per cent pay rise over three years for the most senior doctors was not "tenable".
"I think most South Australians when they look at the proposal of a 30 per cent increase over three years would think that's out of kilter with their experiences and what they're getting," he said.
Mr Maher called on union leadership to "absolutely guarantee that any [strike] action they take will not have health impacts on South Australians".
SASMOA chief industrial officer, Bernadette Mulholland, said any strike action would factor in "safe levels of medical staffing to minimise the impact on patients and community".
"But doctors have to start looking after themselves or there won't be any to look after others," she said.
Ms Muholland said a decision to do a full-day strike if an agreement was not reached was "exceptional".
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