Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (02:39): (2192) It is fitting that I ask this question of the Minister for Health at 2:40 in the morning. It is fitting because at 2:40 in the morning very many workers, very many healthcare workers for that matter, including cooks, cleaners, orderlies, security guards, ward clerks and allied health professionals, are working very busily in our hospitals. However, very sadly, on this Thursday coming very many of our healthcare workers will go on strike. They will go on strike because in hospitals like those in my local electorate, Maroondah Hospital and Box Hill Hospital, unfortunately this workforce, which is thousands of unsung heroes – they are the unglamorous jobs but essential jobs, the very people we relied upon during COVID, as I said, those who cook for us and clean for us while we are having hospital stays – very sadly, at this point face the uncertainty of losing their jobs because one hospital after the other, including Eastern Health, are in the process of privatising their jobs.

The Health Workers Union in this case have tried to negotiate, at least with Eastern Health, but before they could negotiate they enacted their rights under their bargaining and sought to understand what it is Eastern Health seek to do. Two years ago they provided a consultant’s report – that is Eastern Health to the union. They have also provided an executive summary to the private organisation which would actually take over these jobs and effectively sack these cooks, sack these cleaners and sack these orderlies, leaving them without a job and effectively farming out and privatising all these vital services which currently are provided, as I said, by locals who provide that indispensable service and assistance to our patients in Maroondah Hospital and Box Hill Hospital. Yet this Eastern Health authority are relying upon the very firm they intend to sub out to privatise these services to.

My request of the Minister for Health is that she intervene in Eastern Health to save these thousands of jobs across the state, but in particular those jobs in Maroondah Hospital and in Box Hill Hospital, of the very people that we turned to and relied upon during the COVID epidemic but also continue to do so day in and day out. They are some of the lowest paid in our hospital system. Very sadly, at this point the government has refused to come to their aid, and the health authority, Eastern Health, have refused to provide the kind of transparency that this union is entitled to have access to. Rather than giving them access to that, they have had to take Eastern Health to the arbiter to try and get the information which they so richly and rightly deserve.

The PRESIDENT: The minister has given leave for a 21st adjournment matter. I will call Mrs McArthur, but I want to put on the record that there are only going to be 19 tomorrow. We are going to have 21 this morning, and we are going to have a maximum of 19 this evening.