Planned nurse strike at major Adelaide hospital rescheduled

Planned Nurse Strike Rescheduled at Major Adelaide Hospital

The South Australian government has announced that a planned nurse strike at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide has been rescheduled. This decision follows an ongoing industrial dispute between nurses and the government over pay and working conditions.

New Strike Date Set for February 26

The original strike, scheduled for February 18, was postponed to February 26 at 7am. This change aims to allow further discussions between all parties to minimize the impact on patients.

Implications of the Strike

The rescheduling comes after concerns about potential cancellations of up to 1,000 outpatient appointments and 32 surgery operations. Nurses are advocating for a wage increase of approximately 21% over three years, while the government's latest offer was an 11.14% increase.

Recent Government Offer

The South Australian government recently offered a 4% pay rise, backdated to January 1, but ANMF representatives have stated this does not adequately address the workforce challenges facing the state's nurses and midwives.

Elizabeth Dabars of ANMF emphasized that the last offers from the government did not provide meaningful change and called for urgent negotiations. The strike action has been postponed to facilitate these discussions, with hopes that community support remains strong despite the impact on elective surgery and appointments.