Arabic version: نقابة تطالب بتحرك بشأن خفض وظائف علم الأمراض في ماتر
According to ABC News, Together Queensland has urged the state government to intervene as Mater Health prepares to cut around 430 pathology jobs after deciding to outsource services at its South Brisbane and Springfield hospitals.
Mater told staff on Monday that pathology services would move to specialist providers. More than 100 positions are due to be removed within two months, while most of the remaining roles are expected to end next year. Mater said Medicare funding had not kept pace with rising pathology delivery costs and said the decision did not reflect on staff capability, professionalism or commitment.
The union wrote to Health Minister Tim Nicholls asking him to seek a halt to first-phase terminations until consultation and redeployment processes were completed. Branch secretary Alex Scott said workers had been told their jobs were at risk and had limited time to apply for retained roles. The union has also sought urgent talks with Mater and raised a formal dispute under the relevant enterprise agreement.
A Mater spokesperson said the consultation and redeployment process was consistent with applicable Mater Enterprise Agreements, and that the deadline for expressions of interest in five roles had been extended. The organisation said it was committed to working with employees and union representatives affected by the changes.
Mr Nicholls said the government had been in contact with Mater regarding ongoing services. He said Mater had assured Queensland Health there would be no interruption to pathology services for patients. Mater said its new model would use specialist providers including Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology and Pathology Queensland, and would allow more resources to be directed to clinical patient care.
Together Queensland has asked Mater to guarantee that public patients will not face new out-of-pocket costs. Queensland Department of Health’s latest annual report says Mater received $821 million in government funding last financial year for public health care.
