Christmas wage deal makes state’s nurses among Australia’s highest paid
Queensland nurses and midwives will get a pay rise just in time for Christmas after a landmark enterprise bargaining agreement.
Nurse Zoe Park receives a Covid-19 vaccine jab at the Gold Coast University Hospital. (AAP: Nigel Hallett)
The pay deal is the biggest increase for nurses across the country, making Queensland nurses among Australia’s highest paid, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said.
“The first increased pay packet for nurses will be paid to nurses and midwives in the week leading up to Christmas,” the minister said.
The four per cent increase will be backdated to April 2022 with a lump sum payment to nurses and midwives just before Christmas.
“The agreement includes a wage increase of four per cent, four per cent and three per cent over three years and a cost-of-living adjustment payment each year of the agreement (capped at 3 per cent) if CPI in the relevant year is higher than the base wage increase.”
The deal increases Sunday penalty rates and removes annual leave deductions for public holidays.
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union’s Beth Mohle welcomed the deal for the state’s almost 55,000 public nurses and midwives.
“This is a significant and much-deserved win for Queensland’s nurses and midwives who have given their all during Covid-19 and every day,” Mohle said.
