Doctors pay deal finalised
Nearly one thousand Tasmanian doctors can look forward to a pay increase with a formal wage agreement coming into effect yesterday.
The Salaried Medical Practitioners Agreement will run through until July 2019 and will provide doctors with a 2 per cent pay increase, which will be backdated to July 1, 2016.
The Hodgman Government has also negotiated the provision of a new recruitment and retention allowance of 25 per cent for a two-year trial period for specialists that will be located in the North West region.
The fixed-term trial is aimed specifically at testing the effectiveness of such an allowance in meeting the health needs of the North West by attracting and retaining specialists to the region, as well as helping to decrease the overall health costs by reducing the use of locums.
To increase our ability to both recruit and retain our medical workforce in the North West, the allowance would be offered to both new and existing medical specialists.
Revised Market Allowance provisions will also be applicable across the state to ensure Tasmania can be competitive in recruiting staff in hard to fill areas of expertise.
The new agreement is consistent with the Government’s wages policy while also recognising the vital role medical practitioners play in providing health services across Tasmania.
Contact: Vanessa Field
Phone: 0459 802 513