The bins might go unemptied and the dishes may pile up, but for the workers walking off the job at Kyabram District Health Service this Wednesday, the mess is the message.

Essential workers at KDHS will be walking off the job on February 18 in protest of the Victorian Government’s stance in a pay-rise dispute.

Twenty KDHS staff — including cooks, cleaners, orderlies, theatre technicians and phlebotomists — will join 10,000 health workers statewide in strike action, disrupting the often invisible but crucial services that keep hospitals running.

Kyabram union representative Michelle Turpin will be in Footscray on Wednesday to join the protest in front of the new $1.5 billion hospital that is set to open on the same day.

She said the protest, while on a smaller scale back in Kyabram, would impact services as union members chose to forgo their rostered shifts.

“Essentially (KDHS) will either be short-staffed, or management will have to jump in and pick up the shortfall,” Mrs Turpin said.

This walk-off centres on one key demand: proper recognition for the workers who keep hospitals functioning behind the scenes.

“We did all the hard yards throughout COVID-19. We were essential,” Mrs Turpin said.

“We were a big cog in looking after your elderly parents, for anyone coming in and out for surgeries. Whether it be for renal dialysis or oncology — we do matter.

“We’re the lowest paid in any organisation in the hospital, and we deserve to be reflected for our work.”

The industrial action is the latest escalation in a long-running dispute over pay and workloads, and the third strike event since December last year.

The Health Workers Union has been attempting to negotiate a new enterprise bargaining agreement for almost a year, and the current agreement is nearly eight months out of date.

When the government offered a three per cent salary bump, less than inflation and the lowest offer in all planned health annual pay rises, HWU organiser Jake McGuiness said it was a “show of disrespect”.

The government's latest bargaining offer spreads a 10 per cent pay rise across three years — five per cent in the first year, five per cent in the second, then nothing in year three.

HWU members rejected the government’s pay offer in a united show of 98 per cent.

KDHS will be operating on Wednesday, with “contingency plans” in place to maintain essential services and minimise any disruptions.

Chief executive Anne McEvoy said the hospital’s priority remained to ensure delivery of safe, high-quality care to the community, but said she respected the right of the employees to participate in lawful industrial action.

“KDHS continues to participate fully in the statewide bargaining process being led by the Victorian Government and is committed to working constructively with all parties towards a fair and sustainable agreement,” Ms McEvoy said.

“We acknowledge the valuable work of our dedicated staff and remain focused on supporting them while ensuring that patient care is not compromised.”

Mrs Turpin, heading to Wednesday's frontline protest, said she was fed up with claims that workers like her didn’t impact hospitals — and the overwhelming rejection of the pay offer showed thousands of colleagues statewide shared her frustration.

“According to Jacinta Allan and the government health (department), we don’t have any impact on hospitals, and that if we were to strike it wouldn’t actually impact any hospitals whatsoever — which isn’t the case,” she said.

“The hospitals are getting dirty — we’re not cleaning bins and other items in non-clinical areas, we’re not cleaning one in every four beds, and we’re not washing dishes, so the dishes are piling up in the kitchens.

“It is impacting, but (Allan) is playing hard ball.”

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Thursday, 30th December 2027

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