Nurses feel the pinch

THOUSANDS of nurses could be facing redundancy or lower wages, the Australian Nursing Federation claims.

It blamed the Howard Government's new WorkChoice laws and Victorian laws allowing personal care workers to dispense drugs to elderly patients.

Several Victorian nursing home operators have already told nursing staff they must either accept redundancy, work fewer shifts or be re-employed on lower rates as personal care workers.

Aged Care Services Australia Group has told 29 nurses at private aged care facilities in Ballarat and Bendigo their jobs are redundant.

Although the sackings were on hold pending further consultation with the nurses' union, two other operators, in Narre Warren and Reservoir, had made similar moves, the ANF said.

ANF secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said many of the big private operators had restructured their companies and set up subsidiaries that employ 100 people or fewer to give them flexibility in sacking nurses under the WorkChoice regime.

New Victorian laws allowing personal care workers, rather than registered nurses, to administer all drugs except those that are injected to elderly residents came into effect on May 31.

They give employers the option of hiring cheaper personal care workers in place of registered nurses, Ms Fitzpatrick said.

She said dozens of Victorian nursing jobs were immediately threatened but several thousand more places within the industry were at risk.

Article from www.heraldsun.news.com.au