Victoria’s health system is heading toward a major confrontation, with a quarter of all public hospital beds facing closure amid an escalating industrial dispute that threatens to overshadow the Allan government’s election-year agenda.
The Health Workers Union (HWU), representing thousands of essential but low-paid hospital employees, has warned that its members are prepared to shut down large sections of the public health system in January unless the government improves its pay offer. The move could halt non-urgent surgeries and deepen pressure on the state’s already overstretched healthcare network.
Workers participating in the planned bans include cleaners, cooks, orderlies, allied health assistants, ward clerks, security guards, theatre technicians, and phlebotomists. Under the proposed action, staff would refuse to clean vacated beds, making them unusable for incoming patients. They would also halt the cleaning of non-clinical areas — such as public corridors, office spaces, and waiting rooms — forcing hospitals to close one in every four beds statewide.
According to HWU lead organiser Jake McGuinness, the government’s current offer of a four-year agreement with annual 3 per cent pay increases is unacceptable and fails to address the cost-of-living pressure faced by workers with some of the lowest wages in the healthcare system.
“If the dispute is not resolved, we will escalate work bans in January,” McGuinness said. “The clock is ticking for the government to give essential healthcare workers a liveable wage so that Victoria can avoid an escalation of its healthcare crisis.”
The union argues that Premier Jacinta Allan and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas hold the authority to break the deadlock by offering a fairer deal. McGuinness said the HWU is seeking “direct engagement” with the minister to prevent further disruption and avoid measures that would inconvenience patients.
The consequences of pausing procedures would be considerable. Category 2 surgeries — which include operations such as heart valve replacements and nerve decompression — are meant to occur within 90 days. The latest Victorian Agency for Health Information data shows that patients are already waiting an average of 187 days longer than expected. Some hospitals have year-long backlogs.
Category 3 surgeries, which include tonsillectomies and non-emergency hip replacements, could also be halted. Patients in this category already face nearly 12-month waits.
Victoria’s surgical waiting lists ballooned during the pandemic, prompting the government to allocate $1.5 billion to its Covid catch-up program. But an August report from the Victorian Auditor General found the plan failed to meet core targets, including treating all patients overdue beyond recommended timeframes.
The dispute has already had significant impact. Last week, staff from more than 80 health services walked off the job in industrial action the union says led to more than 1000 elective surgeries being cancelled. Some Category 1 surgeries were also disrupted, despite assurances from the government that emergency and critical care procedures would not be affected.
In the coming weeks, industrial action is set to continue but will focus on administrative and revenue measures rather than disrupting patient care during the Christmas period. Bans will include refusing to process Medicare reimbursements and private health insurance claims, costing the state millions each day in lost revenue.
“No health worker wants to ruin someone’s Christmas,” McGuinness said. “But the government must recognise that this crisis is entirely avoidable.”
With election season about to begin, the Allan government faces increasing political pressure to resolve the dispute swiftly — before closed beds, longer wait times, and delays to vital surgeries dominate the public debate.
