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Speaker 1: Now. Yesterday on the show, I spoke to Professional Pharmacists Australia,

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Speaker 1: the union representing NT pharmacists and technicians who are employed

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Speaker 1: by the Northern Territory government. Now Executive Officer Jessica Hensman

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Speaker 1: said that members are taking industrial action which is going

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Speaker 1: to cost the Northern Territory government. She says a million

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Speaker 1: dollars a week by not claiming subsidies for medications. Now,

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Speaker 1: the union says they've got to this point due to

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Speaker 1: the long running concerns about understaffing at hospital pharmacies with

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Speaker 1: no permanent staffing Catherine, which could impact cancer services. Take

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Speaker 1: a listen to what she had to say on the

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Speaker 1: show yesterday.

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Speaker 2: Put some money on the table. This is a dire situation.

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Speaker 2: We cannot compete with other states or territories or the

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Speaker 2: private sector. So if you want Territorians to be safe

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Speaker 2: when they go to hospital, put some money on the table.

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Speaker 1: Now. The Commissioner for Public Employment, Nicole Hurwood, joins me

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Speaker 1: on the line. Good morning, Commissioner, Good morning Katie, thanks

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Speaker 1: so much for your time this morning. Now, from your perspective,

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Speaker 1: where are the negotiations at with pharmacists in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we've put an offer out which has been

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Speaker 3: out with the unions and with our workforce for two

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Speaker 3: and a half weeks, and we're currently considering feedback that's

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Speaker 3: coming back in about that offer, with a view to

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Speaker 3: be putting that offer out to an employee vote.

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Speaker 1: Okay, So, with that feedback being received or taking a

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Speaker 1: look at that feedback, is there potential here that that

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Speaker 1: offer could be increased to try and make these salaries

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Speaker 1: a bit more competitive with other states.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we've got an offer that's out that we

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Speaker 3: think is very fair. It considers a three percent salary

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Speaker 3: increase and a range of improvements for our professional workforce.

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Speaker 3: I will consider all the feedback that comes in about

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Speaker 3: the offer, and then, as I said, I'll be putting

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Speaker 3: that out for a vote for employees. But certainly there

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Speaker 3: are a rain of improvements in the current offer that

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Speaker 3: I think are very generous and affordable.

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Speaker 1: Commissioner, can you talk us through what is being offered,

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Speaker 1: what is on the table at the moment?

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Speaker 3: Sure, So we're offering a three percent pay rise, which

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Speaker 3: is well above the current CPI and predicted CPI and

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Speaker 3: for professionals in particular, we've got a range of new

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Speaker 3: and improved measures, which include access to over time, which

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Speaker 3: for some of those professionals they haven't had access to before.

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Speaker 3: We've got a range of new allowance options which can

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Speaker 3: actually provide additional incentives for professionals and other professional incentives

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Speaker 3: and professional development kind of uplifts in their remuneration, which

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Speaker 3: depending on their level and where they live, can be

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Speaker 3: up to around twenty two thousand dollars.

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Speaker 1: Okay, what's the sticking point from your perspective, you know,

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Speaker 1: as you understand it from pharmacists at this point.

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Speaker 3: Look, I think the union's role is to represent and

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Speaker 3: advocate for their members, and there's always going to be

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Speaker 3: wanting to have more. I guess from my perspective, we've

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Speaker 3: put a really good offer on the table. There are

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Speaker 3: some concerns that they've expressed around vacancy rates and the workforce,

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Speaker 3: and I think, you know, NT Health will be better

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Speaker 3: place to comment on the work they're doing to improve

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Speaker 3: vacancy rates. But they do have currently now already in

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Speaker 3: place a range of measures to ensure that people can

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Speaker 3: access their medicine and will continue to do so while

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Speaker 3: these actions underway.

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Speaker 1: Look, obviously I'm very conscious of the fact that the

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Speaker 1: Health Department is in charge of that side of things.

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Speaker 1: But to me, it is concerning if we've got a

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Speaker 1: situation in Catherine, for example, where we've got a one

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Speaker 1: hundred percent vacancy rate, is what the union's telling us

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Speaker 1: and the impact that that's potentially going to have for

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Speaker 1: the people of Catherine.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, what I'd say to that, I guess is that

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Speaker 3: the Department of Health have got a lot of plans

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Speaker 3: in place to ensure that people are getting their met

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Speaker 3: and then they're continuing to do so. Now you know,

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Speaker 3: they employ other workforce such as locans to come in

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Speaker 3: and support where they might have staffing issues, and they

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Speaker 3: continue to do that on a day to day basis

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Speaker 3: across all of their service areas, and Department of Health,

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Speaker 3: you know, really do put the safety of patients at

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Speaker 3: the center of what they do.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess. Again the argument would be, though, if

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Speaker 1: you're having to bring in locos from other locations to

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Speaker 1: fill those roles or to to cover those roles, surely

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Speaker 1: that ends up being more expensive, a more expensive process

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Speaker 1: for us down the track than amping up the pay

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Speaker 1: a little bit more for those permanent staff.

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Speaker 3: Well, as I said Katy, I think the offer that

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Speaker 3: we do have on the table is a really good offer,

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Speaker 3: a three percent salary increase in a range of incentives

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Speaker 3: for professionals in particular, amongst other things, and the Northern

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Speaker 3: Churchary Public Service in itself is quite an attractive employment

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Speaker 3: options for people in the sense that we have some

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Speaker 3: of the best conditions in and leave provisions in now

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Speaker 3: enterprise agreements nationally. So there are a range of other

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Speaker 3: things also that you know, people make decisions about in

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Speaker 3: terms of where they want to work and what they

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Speaker 3: want to do with their careers.

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Speaker 1: Commissioner, I know the PPA they claim that a pharmacy

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Speaker 1: dispensary manager at Royal Darwin Hospital could be paid twenty

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Speaker 1: thousand dollars more to do the same job in Queensland.

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Speaker 1: I mean it does sound like a big disparity.

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Speaker 3: Look, it's really difficult, Katie, to compare across jurisdictions. We

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Speaker 3: all jurisdictions in Australia have very different employment structures, different

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Speaker 3: employment conditions, and as I've said before, some of our

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Speaker 3: conditions and lead provisions for example, or some of the

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Speaker 3: most generous in the country. So it's not just about salary.

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Speaker 3: When we're talking about the remuneration package that we offer.

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Speaker 3: That said, we do have very good professional salary rates,

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Speaker 3: and we're offering even more under this under this off From.

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Speaker 1: Your perspective, what impact is the industrial action that they

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Speaker 1: are taking going to have? I mean, from what they

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Speaker 1: said to U sh Es today, it sounds like it's

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Speaker 1: going to be costly if it is, you know, if

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Speaker 1: it's a million dollars a week in terms of you know,

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Speaker 1: not claiming those subsidies.

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Speaker 3: Look, we respect the right of our employees to take

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Speaker 3: the action they can legally do that, but really in

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Speaker 3: terms of the subsidies and the other actions, that's probably

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Speaker 3: more important for the department selves to talk about the impact.

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Speaker 3: But I guess they are. There are a range of

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Speaker 3: different actions that there's been approved to undertake, and the

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Speaker 3: Department of Health will do all the things necessary to

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Speaker 3: make sure that people can still get their medicine at

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Speaker 3: this time.

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Speaker 1: Commissioner Where to from here? From your perspective, I mean,

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Speaker 1: as you said, there's a you've got this offer on

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Speaker 1: the table. You know you are listening to that feedback.

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Speaker 1: Where too from here? From your perspective?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so, yeah, we will consider all the feed that

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Speaker 3: that's coming in and then you know, my objective is

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Speaker 3: to get this offer out to a vote, so hopefully

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Speaker 3: we can, and you know, I think we will get

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Speaker 3: a good outcome from the negotiations and really get on

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Speaker 3: with our business and get the public servants back to

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Speaker 3: work around delivering the services that Tertior ends and eat

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Speaker 3: if it does end.

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Speaker 1: Up going to the arbitration tribunal, is that something that

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Speaker 1: sort of commonly happens, because I know there was the

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Speaker 1: discussion last week or the week before about whether the

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Speaker 1: police would end up doing that. Is that sort of

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Speaker 1: common practice or does it happen very often?

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Speaker 3: Look, Katie, really we'll cross that bridge when if we

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Speaker 3: have to come to it, but not certainly not in

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Speaker 3: usually with the public service, we do come to an agreement,

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Speaker 3: and certainly I'm hoping that this offer will be attractive

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Speaker 3: to the public service. It is a really good offer

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Speaker 3: with a three percent salary increase, and you know, I

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Speaker 3: think we won't necessarily have to take that action. But

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Speaker 3: it isn't something that commonly happens.

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Speaker 1: Now, Commissioner, you're a busy woman at the moment. You've

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Speaker 1: got lots of there's lots of pain negotiations underway.

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Speaker 3: Isn't there They certainly are well.

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Speaker 1: Commissioner for Public Employment, Nicole Hurwood, I appreciate your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. We'll wait and hear how things progress. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for having a chat with us.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie, thank you,