Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Nursing and Midwifery Union's Cath Hatcher about public servants - have many been lost this week?

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Katie spoke with Nursing and Midwifery Union's Cath Hatcher about public servants - have many been lost this week? · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: It is twenty minutes away from ten o'clock and we've
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  Speaker 1: heard well from a couple of our industry leaders, both
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  Speaker 1: the construction industry and indeed hospitality about how that mandate
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  Speaker 1: has been received over the course of the weekend. Now
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  Speaker 1: those numbers well at this point in time at a
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  Speaker 1: guest Dave Malone said from master builders between seven and
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  Speaker 1: ten percent of the workforce remaining unvaccinated at this point,
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  Speaker 1: with hospitality between zero and five percent. So how are
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  Speaker 1: things going within the health sector? Joining us on the
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  Speaker 1: line right now is Cath Hatcher from the Nursing and
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  Speaker 1: Midwiffree Union here in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Cath, Oh, good morning.
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  Speaker 1: How are you very well? Thanks Cath. How did things
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  Speaker 1: go over the course of the weekend from your perspective
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  Speaker 1: with that mandate kicking in?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I haven't got any updates actually, so I'm going
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  Speaker 2: to be a very boring interview this morning. So we
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  Speaker 2: haven't had any updates from any of the hospitals to date.
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  Speaker 2: I will probably hear tomorrow when I have a meeting
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  Speaker 2: with the Department of Health. But we were had a
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  Speaker 2: meeting late last week with the Commissioner for Public Employment
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  Speaker 2: Vicky Telfer, and she thought that there would be approximately
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  Speaker 2: a dozen per agency that would be not vaccinated. I
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  Speaker 2: think that that underestimated the true figure. I think there
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  Speaker 2: would be probably at least a dozen just within the
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  Speaker 2: nursing and midward free sector across the territory. But she
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  Speaker 2: was saying co agency, which would mean per the whole
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  Speaker 2: Department of Health to say, so, I think that number
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  Speaker 2: is very underestimated.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you think it's underestimated CASS.
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  Speaker 2: Because we've already had at least eight to ten that
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  Speaker 2: have come through the office with concerns and of what
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  Speaker 2: to do now because they're not they're not anti vaxxes.
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  Speaker 2: They're just holding off and waiting to see and eventually
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  Speaker 2: we'll get the vaccine, but just not yet. Ye. So
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  Speaker 2: those have had or been given alternative work arrangements to
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  Speaker 2: work from home rather those nurses can, some can't, majority
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  Speaker 2: of nurses can't. So they're being put down on stood
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  Speaker 2: down on pay at this stage, and then they will
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  Speaker 2: be worked out to whether they are stood down with
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  Speaker 2: their own leave and you'll leave or long service leave,
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  Speaker 2: and then it'll a decision will be made as time
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  Speaker 2: goes on.
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  Speaker 1: So Kat can I just clarify, so between eight and
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  Speaker 1: ten nurses, so that's within the health system across the
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  Speaker 1: territory at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that we know of, so there would be a
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  Speaker 2: lot more than that that won't has the vaccine. So
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  Speaker 2: I would say that across the whole Department of Health
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  Speaker 2: had been more than a dozen.
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  Speaker 1: Now I know that the Chief Minister has been out
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  Speaker 1: this morning and said that there is that forty eight
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  Speaker 1: hour grace period when it comes to public servants obviously
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  Speaker 1: getting vaccinated. Do you think that we're going to see
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  Speaker 1: that number change in any way when some staff realize
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  Speaker 1: that they are potentially going to definitely lose their jobs.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Vicky Telfer, the Commissioner for Public Employment, made it
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  Speaker 2: very clear to all the unions late last week that
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  Speaker 2: come the thirteenth of November, which was Saturday, that no
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  Speaker 2: one will be able to work unless they've had their
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  Speaker 2: first vaccine. Because as we know, the Department of Health
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  Speaker 2: doesn't close on a Friday at four point thirty and
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  Speaker 2: reopen on a Monday at eight o'clock, so those that
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  Speaker 2: do work shift work have already been effected. I did
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  Speaker 2: not hear about any grace period from the Commissioner late
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  Speaker 2: last week. It was she was hoping that some people
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  Speaker 2: get their exam as sorry, they get their assignments in late.
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  Speaker 2: She was just hoping that those that get their assignments
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  Speaker 2: in late would also get their vaccines late to the
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  Speaker 2: twenty fourth hour, so to speak, and that she was
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  Speaker 2: hoping that by Saturday morning or Monday morning that hopefully
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  Speaker 2: only a dozen that wouldn't get the vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, well, because I mean, the Chief Minister has
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  Speaker 1: been quite strong in the statement that they've sent to
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  Speaker 1: us this morning and said that discipline reaction will commence
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  Speaker 1: immediately for the unvaccinated. Not one single unvaccinated public servant
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  Speaker 1: will get one extra cent beyond what they're legally we
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  Speaker 1: are legally compelled to pay them, is what he said
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  Speaker 1: this morning. So it's so, I guess it's going to
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  Speaker 1: be tough to see where it all lands.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, so we have seen a letter that the CEO
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  Speaker 2: from the Department of Hew Frank Daily put out late
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  Speaker 2: last week that they would be stood down. Some were
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  Speaker 2: getting stood down with pay, some were getting stood down
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  Speaker 2: without pay. It was the recommendation of the Commissioner for
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  Speaker 2: Public Employment that the first letter that the employee who
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  Speaker 2: was not vaccinated would get a stood down with pay,
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  Speaker 2: and then they would have a face to face meeting
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  Speaker 2: with their manager or an equivalent, and then there would
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  Speaker 2: be worked out whether they would be stood down with
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  Speaker 2: annually with long service or stood down without pay.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, and so Cas, what kind of impact do
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  Speaker 1: you think? I mean, I know you've said between eight
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  Speaker 1: and ten at this point, but potentially more What kind
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  Speaker 1: of impact is that going to have on an already
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  Speaker 1: strained health system? Do you think.
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  Speaker 2: We're probably only talking one, maybe two staff across the
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  Speaker 2: whole ward, with not just nurses but all the all
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  Speaker 2: the staff within each ward. So yes, it will have
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  Speaker 2: some impact, but I don't think it would be huge.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, Cass. Anything else we should be aware of this morning?
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  Speaker 2: Known, Like I said, I'm not very good because I
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  Speaker 2: haven't had some updates.
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  Speaker 1: Try you've still given us heaps there, You've still given
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  Speaker 1: us heaps of information, so we're very grateful. We might
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  Speaker 1: we might try and just touch base with you throughout
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  Speaker 1: the week as well to see whether those numbers are
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  Speaker 1: any more sort of concrete as well a little later
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  Speaker 1: in the week.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the Department of Health is not always forthcoming with
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  Speaker 2: all the statistics. So to the union. So I may
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  Speaker 2: or may not get the full pictures, but I will try.
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  Speaker 2: We'll get my own benefit with the office. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and we always appreciate your time. I know you're
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  Speaker 1: a busy, busy woman, so thank you very much for
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  Speaker 1: having a chat with me this morning.
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  Speaker 2: No, you're very welcome.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.