On Friday 04 August 2023 during Parliamentary estimates, I asked the Health Minister and the Director General of the Health Department about the real wage decline for public healthcare workers under their current wage agreement.
You can read my question and the answer below, or find the full transcript and video link in the official Queensland Parliament Record of Proceedings (Hansard).
Amy:
My question is for the Acting Director-General. Treasury figures for inflation in Budget Paper 2 show inflation at 7.25 per cent for last year and a projection of 3.7 per cent for this financial year. From my calculations, inflation has exceeded the headline wage percentage for health workers. Do you concede that public health care workers’ real wages are going backwards even with the additional cost-of-living supplement?
Director General:
The wages that are paid for all Queensland Health staff are in line with the enterprise bargaining agreements that are negotiated between the department and employee representative organisations and in line with government wages policy. Asking whether I have an opinion about that is not what I am here to do; I am here to present facts around the portfolio.
Amy:
Based on these inflation figures, do you think the health care workers are keeping pace—
Chair:
Seeking an opinion, member.
Amy:
It is not an opinion; it is just a calculation of maths.
Chair:
Member, I am asking you either to rephrase your question or move to another question. I do not want to rule it out of order. I want you to be able to ask the question, but can you do it without seeking an opinion?
Amy:
What is the percentage gap between workers’ real wages and inflation?
Director General:
The wages increase for health staff in Queensland has been the largest in Australia and in line with government wages policy and the enterprise bargaining agreements that are negotiated with employee representative organisations.
Amy:
Minister, the cost-of-living supplements concede that inflation has exceeded the headline percentage figure for health workers. What representations are you making to make sure that health care workers are being appropriately paid?
Health Minister:
As the acting director-general has said, we have some of the most generous pay and conditions in this country. I absolutely appreciate that our health workforce is working incredibly hard and, like all Queenslanders are facing cost-of-living pressures, but that is why they have a cost-of-living allowance. Not just that—it is why we are providing cost-of-living relief to every household through our electricity rebates. It is why we have made kindergarten free. We know that a huge amount of women enter the health profession as workers and that getting free kindergarten for children is an absolute game changer. We are a government that is about hiring thousands more staff. We are paying them the best in the country and we are providing cost-of-living relief across almost every government portfolio, which I know our health workers appreciate.
The other thing in this budget that I am really proud that I delivered with the Treasurer is a cost-of-living payment for our nursing and midwifery students in their final-year placement. We want them to do their placements in regional Queensland. That is where the huge demand is. We know that, if nursing and midwifery students get to do a placement in regional Queensland, they often love the community—they love regional Queensland—and will stay there to start their career, which is what we want them to do. But travelling away from home as a student when they cannot earn money in their regular part-time job because they are doing their placement means it is really tough, which is why we are providing that cost-of-living relief for our nursing and midwifery students, which was something the QNMU called for on behalf of its members and I am so proud we are delivering it.