Pharmacists at Goulburn Vallley Health walked off the job for a 24-hour strike on Thursday, August 6, leaving behind a skeleton crew to ensure essential care.
The strike came after 18 months of negotiations that have failed to secure a pay rise in response to a ruling from the Fair Work Commission that determined the allied health sector had been undervalued due to a predominately female workforce.
The strike action was statewide and included hospital-based pharmacists and medical scientists.
Since the negotiations began, the unions have only received two offers from the state government, which were barely above inflation.
Health Services Union Victoria branch secretary Connor Serong said that GV Health in particular needed a lot of hospital pharmacists.
Mr Serong said that pharmacists in hospitals played “a really critical role in medical safety”.
Mr Serong said that when they were part of an in-patient care team, the rate of errors dramatically dropped.
Regional areas such as Shepparton are especially vulnerable to recruitment and retention issues.
“It’s particularly hard to staff unsociable shifts like weekends and nights,” Mr Serong said.
Pharmacists and other allied health workers also face limited professional development opportunities.
Other allied health workers will be undertaking another 24-hour strike on Tuesday, August 11, which will likely affect patient discharges and delay non-urgent procedures.
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