Nursing staff who manage John Hunter Hospital have won a long running fight to be paid their correct wages after a NSW Industrial Relations Commission decision on Friday.
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association members discovered two years ago they were being underpaid for their roles and responsibilities in comparison with other Level 6 emergency departments in NSW and approached Hunter New England Local Health District to regrade them.
The Local Health District refused, so the union filed a dispute with the Industrial Relations Commission last year.
In a decision handed down on Friday, Commissioner Chris Muir ordered that the correct classification of the emergency department coordinators at John Hunter Hospital is a nursing unit manager 1 and recommended the health district re-classify and pay the emergency department coordinators the award of a nursing unit manager 1.
Nurses and Midwives' Association acting assistant general secretary Michael Whaites said the decision was extremely satisfying for the members, but said it was "another disappointing example of health bureaucrats refusing to listen to highly-skilled clinical nursing staff".
"Naturally, our members are thrilled by today's decision in the IRC. These nurse unit managers should now be recognised and paid for their substantive role within the ED nursing team at John Hunter Hospital," he said.
"It was clear from the beginning our members had been working in a nurse unit manager role, but the local health district had chosen to incorrectly classify them as registered nurses with a small in-charge allowance.
"We should not have had to drag the local health district and our members through a long IRC process for this outcome, as it was clear these senior nurses should have always been recognised and remunerated in line with their counterparts in other Level 6 emergency departments.
"We are grateful common sense has prevailed and the ongoing efforts of our members recognised, particularly given the challenging work environment they have had to endure, even before the pandemic."
