We seriously wonder what it’s going to take for this government to stop the gnawing crisis in the Tasmanian Health Service and finally address the impact of real recruitment and retention issues for allied health professionals in Tasmania.

Despite us going back to the government with the reasonable, revised, position that you endorsed at membership meetings earlier this month, we still have not heard a response from the government or even been contacted by them to set up a meeting.

You have now given them more than enough time to do the right thing, and it appears that the only option is to take comprehensive industrial action.

As a result of the government’s inaction, your AHP Executive last night resolved to head to stop work meetings, with the first one scheduled for the RHH at 1pm on 23 February. The following week will also see stop work meetings for the LGH and the North West, which we will give you further information about soon.

Of course, these stop work meetings could be avoided if the government come back to the table and make an offer in line with what you have put to them. However, we need to plan ahead in case this doesn’t happen – so please talk to your colleagues both about attending the stop work meeting and what other actions you can take in your workplace to put pressure back on the government.

If you have any further questions or would like some more information, please feel free to get in touch with HACSUassist on 1300 880 032 or via email at assist@hacsu.org.au