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Speaker 1: You're listening to mix one oh four nine's three sixty. Now,

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Speaker 1: Territory doctors have voted no to a four year pay

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Speaker 1: freeze offer by the Northern Territory government in what's been

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Speaker 1: described as exceptional numbers. Joining me on the line to

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Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more about the situation is

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Speaker 1: the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation NT Branch Secretary Doctor

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Speaker 1: John Zororbers. Good morning to you, John, Good morning, how

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Speaker 1: are you? Yeah? Really well, Thanks so much for your

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Speaker 1: time this morning. Now, John, tell us when did this

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Speaker 1: vote happen and what were the numbers.

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Speaker 2: So the vote closed last week and what we saw

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Speaker 2: were record numbers, more than ninety percent of Territory doctors

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Speaker 2: voting no to the real terms pay cut that was

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Speaker 2: being offered by the government. With about fifty percent of

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Speaker 2: all doctors voting. Now, that's the highest turnout and the

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Speaker 2: highest no vote we've seen in the history of the territory.

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Speaker 2: A really strong message to the government that's cutting the

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Speaker 2: pay of doctors at this time, in these circumstances that

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Speaker 2: we're facing, is a terrible move for all Territorians.

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Speaker 1: And why do you reckon that doctors did turn out

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Speaker 1: in record numbers to have their voices heard.

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Speaker 2: Look, it's no secret that the last couple of years

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Speaker 2: has been hard for everybody, not just the doctors and

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Speaker 2: nurses inside the health system, but also all territorians and

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Speaker 2: watching how things have eroded in terms of work conditions,

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Speaker 2: in terms of morale. To be offered a pay cut

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Speaker 2: in the two year mark of what's been a really

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Speaker 2: difficult time was a real kick in the face, and

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Speaker 2: I think a lot of doctors wanted to stand up

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Speaker 2: and let themselves be counted.

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Speaker 1: Now we know that the health system has been going

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Speaker 1: through a tough time. I know that at different times

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Speaker 1: on the show we've spoken about staff shortages, both with

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Speaker 1: our doctors and medical professionals, also with our nurses across

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Speaker 1: the board. I think you'd have to say, how are

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Speaker 1: things going at the moment?

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Speaker 2: Looks, I'm being honest, not great. We really depend a

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Speaker 2: lot on people coming to the town ritory. We're a

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Speaker 2: very large geographical space. We've got a very complex set

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Speaker 2: of health needs up here with our population, and hanging

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Speaker 2: on to doctors and hanging on to nurses and all

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Speaker 2: the people who work in our health system can be

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Speaker 2: really difficult because of that we have to outperform our

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Speaker 2: other states and territories. And now, right now, what we've

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Speaker 2: got on offer is less than what is offered in

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Speaker 2: all other states and territories. It's very hard to convince

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Speaker 2: people to stay. It's very hard to convince people to

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Speaker 2: remain in the territory and provide quality services inside our

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Speaker 2: hospitals and our practices.

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Speaker 1: And when you talk about our doctors, whether it's in

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Speaker 1: the hospital or it's in other practices or other specialized fields,

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Speaker 1: are we struggling to fill some jobs at the moment

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Speaker 1: or how are we tracking when it comes to filling

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Speaker 1: those positions.

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Speaker 2: We are struggling to hold onto people. The recruitment is difficult, absolutely,

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Speaker 2: but hanging on to them even more so. And that

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Speaker 2: means every time a doctor just gets set up and

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Speaker 2: moves on, that's another round of training, that's another round

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Speaker 2: of orientation, round of recruitment. Get someone to come and

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Speaker 2: fill these places. And that means, you know, we're really

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Speaker 2: reliant on locans to fill some of these spots. And

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Speaker 2: that's another doctor in the territory who who doesn't know

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Speaker 2: where Man and Greeter is, who doesn't know where Fred's

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Speaker 2: past is. You know, doesn't know the local geography and

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Speaker 2: the needs of our territories, and that really stops us

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Speaker 2: from being able to deliver really quality care at all times.

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Speaker 1: And John, when you talk about the fact that we

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Speaker 1: are struggling to hold on to people, what kind of

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Speaker 1: impact does that have on delivering some of the different services?

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Speaker 1: Are you things like our weight lists for surgeries.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so this has a huge knock on effect. As

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Speaker 2: you say, if we've got difficulty hanging on to people,

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Speaker 2: that means lists have to be reconfigured. It means we've

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Speaker 2: got to go back and redo a lot of this

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Speaker 2: administrative work, and that just then leads or knock on

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Speaker 2: effect of increase waiting times. Nobody wants to be in

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Speaker 2: an emergency department waiting room. Nobody wants to be on

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Speaker 2: a waiting list. And by offering less than the cost

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Speaker 2: of living, risk losing more and more doctors and making

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Speaker 2: these way kids longer and longer.

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Speaker 1: So what would our doctors and medical professionals like to

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Speaker 1: see here with this pay deal?

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Speaker 2: Very simple? But what we're asking for is inflation. So

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Speaker 2: we've asked for three and a half percent, which I

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Speaker 2: think is quite reasonable, especially when you look at what's

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Speaker 2: been offered in other states and other territories. What's on

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Speaker 2: offer from the government is the pay freeze and this

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Speaker 2: applies to all sectors. I mean, we saw the Teachers'

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Speaker 2: Union I believe it was last week also vote knowing

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Speaker 2: record numbers with a close to ninety percent no vote

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Speaker 2: as well. But this is being felt across all sectors.

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Speaker 2: It's not just doctor and nurses. Really, what we're asking

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Speaker 2: for at this time is just the cost of living.

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Speaker 2: And there are some other features of our proposal. We've

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Speaker 2: requested things like reasonable breastfeeding facilities, reasonable on call rooms,

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Speaker 2: simple things that enable us to do our job. And

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Speaker 2: without coming to the table on those again, the government's

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Speaker 2: just putting up more and more barriers to keeping quality

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Speaker 2: doctors in the territory.

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Speaker 1: If you're not able to actually, you know, to see

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Speaker 1: this change to the pay conditions, you know that you're

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Speaker 1: asking for inflation rate really, so three point five percent,

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Speaker 1: what do you think the ramifications are going to be.

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Speaker 2: Well, we'd like to return to the negotiating table. We

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Speaker 2: like to go back through the governments and sit down

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Speaker 2: with the OCP and talk about what's on offer and

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Speaker 2: hopefully bring them around to our a thinking and explain

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Speaker 2: why it is and get them to understand how important

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Speaker 2: this is to the territory in the health of territorians.

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Speaker 2: Where we go from there is really up to them,

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Speaker 2: and they really need to sit down and ask themselves

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Speaker 2: whether they want to gamble with the health of the territorians.

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Speaker 1: John to anybody listening this morning, who's thinking, you know,

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Speaker 1: I work in a business where I haven't had a

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Speaker 1: pay rise for a number of years, I'm struggling on

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Speaker 1: casual wages. Or listening and thinking are our doctors and

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Speaker 1: medical professionals being greedy here? What would you say to them?

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Speaker 2: Look, I say every sector is different. Every different sector

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Speaker 2: has its demands and has a supply issues. And I

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Speaker 2: really feel for private and small businesses at this time

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Speaker 2: as well. But ultimately, this is a decision that affects

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Speaker 2: every single territorium, every single territorium, rich or poor, urban

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Speaker 2: or rural needs. Our emergency departments, needs, our operating theaters, needs,

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Speaker 2: our primary healthcare clinics. And if we can't match what

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Speaker 2: our other states and territories are matching, and we're not

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Speaker 2: even all we're asking for here is cost of living.

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Speaker 2: Let's remember that all we're asking for is to keep

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Speaker 2: in line with cost increases, so we're not asking for

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Speaker 2: a huge pay rise. If we can't do that, that's

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Speaker 2: one less doctor in ourth territory, that's one less nurse

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Speaker 2: in the territory, and that affects every single territorium. So

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Speaker 2: they do have skin in this game, and I think

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Speaker 2: especially at this time after the couple of years that

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Speaker 2: the health system has endured, now is not the time

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Speaker 2: to not be investing in our human capital.

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Speaker 1: So at this point in time, what the Australian Salaried

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Speaker 1: Medical Officers Federation would like to see is being able

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Speaker 1: to sit back down at the table and cant you

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Speaker 1: those negotiations.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, absolutely, the door is open. We want to continue

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Speaker 2: working with the government and hopefully come to a more

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Speaker 2: reasonable response.

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Speaker 1: And if you can't, is there the chance here that

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Speaker 1: there could be strikes or other industrial sort of action taken?

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Speaker 2: There is. I think it's important for your listeners to

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Speaker 2: understand that we would never take action that would threaten

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Speaker 2: patient care. That would never ever be on the table.

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Speaker 2: But there are ways that we can continue to work

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Speaker 2: with the government or protest what the government is trying

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Speaker 2: to offer, and we will use those mechanisms if we

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Speaker 2: need too, but that is absolutely a last resort, absolutely

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Speaker 2: a last resort.

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Speaker 1: Well Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation NT Branch Secretary, Doctor

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Speaker 1: John Zorbis, I really appreciate your time this morning. Thank

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Speaker 1: you very much for.

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Speaker 2: Speaking with me, no problems, thanks for having us.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, and that number if you do want to

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Speaker 1: call through this morning eight nine four one one oh

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Speaker 1: four nine