Qld nurses poised to strike deal with Crisafulli government

Queensland nurses and midwives are poised to accept an improved bargaining agreement with the Crisafulli government following months of bitter negotiations, threats of industrial action and dozens of meetings with the department.

The Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union wrote to members on Thursday evening with an offer of an 11 per cent wage increase over three years, which it spruiked as the biggest increase in more than 10 years, and one that would result in nation-leading pay.

The letter to members, seen by this masthead, said the “huge improvement” in the deal negotiated by the union would guarantee a 3 per cent pay rise from April this year, 2.5 per cent in each of the next two years, and a 3 per cent pay rise in December 2027.

The pay deal also includes provisions for more if inflation was higher than forecast.

It comes after some early – and yet to be finalised – deals struck by the government with police, firefighters and doctors as part of a raft of agreements expiring in the next year.

Queensland’s state school teachers, who walked off the job for the first time in 16 years earlier this month as part of their negotiations, are yet to announce any breakthrough in their talks with the government, which are being mediated by the industrial umpire.

“Together, we’ve shifted the government significantly since their first offer in May,” the QNMU wrote to members on Thursday night.

“After more than 150 hours of bargaining and 13 intensive conciliation sessions in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, we’ve achieved real improvements for nurses and midwives.

“The QNMU and Queensland Health have reached a bargaining consensus during conciliation.”

The offer, which includes backpay of wages, would raise the earning potential for nearly a quarter of nurses and midwives and lift double time for overtime to nation-leading levels for all shift workers.

On top of the 3 per cent rise in late 2027 linked to the government’s election promise, a new eighth pay point will be added to the Nurse Grade 5 classification.

“All employees classified at Nurse Grade 5 pay point 1 on 1 December 2027 will progress to Nurse Grade 6 pay point 2 on this date (which will become the new pay point 1 from December 2027),” according to the latest offer seen by this masthead.

In a statement on Friday, Health Minister Tim Nicholls hailed the consensus reached between the two parties for “nation-leading wages and conditions, as well as more incentives to attract and retain staff in rural and remote Queensland”.

“Queensland Health’s nurses and midwives are the beating heart of the health system, so I am pleased Queensland Health and the unions have worked constructively to reach a consensus focused on attracting, retaining, valuing and respecting nurses and midwives,” he said.

“It is a significant achievement and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all parties involved for their assistance in reaching this positive outcome.”

The union will now report back to members to determine whether the offer should be put to a formal vote, with protected industrial action still on pause while this occurs.

Its Facebook post sharing news of the offer late on Thursday has had comments turned off after some accounts raised issue with the delay of an additional pay boost until 2027 and the lack of certainty around multidisciplinary roles.

Negotiations between the union and Queensland Health have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, with nurses and midwives beginning protected industrial action in June.

Wearing campaign shirts and handing out badges, stickers and information escalated to stage two in July after continued government inertia.

This saw up to 48,000 unionised workers refusing overtime without four hours’ notice, or the completion of tasks such as logging patient details, emptying bins and making beds.

After the government sought conciliation through the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission last month, the independent tribunal called for the union to pause all action for three weeks to September 2.

But the union had told members to continue preparing for a quick re-escalation if a satisfactory outcome couldn’t be reached or the government failed to continue to negotiate in good faith.

“If this happens, we will escalate to Stage 3 strike action across the state,” said an update to members on the union’s website at the time.

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