St John of God Health Care will stop operating maternity services at its Bunbury Hospital next month, citing a staff shortage in delivering private obstetric care in regional areas.
Western Australia's nursing union has backed a 3 per cent pay rise, bringing an end to the longest-running pay dispute in the organisation's 100-year history.
Western Australian nurses and midwives are overwhelmingly backing plans to form a state political party in the latest escalation of a bitter wages feud between their union and the WA government.
Janet Reah holds no regrets about calling for the ANF to strike over the objections of the state's industrial relations watchdog, despite the union now facing fines worth a cumulative $27 million.
The state government has tabled what it says will be a final pay bump of between 3 per cent and 4.5 per cent to WA nurses and called on the union to come back to the negotiating table on working conditions.
Janet Reah has vowed the nurses' union won't again defy the industrial relations commission's orders as the threat of deregistration lingers following last month's strike.
Nurses have received public support from a major ally ahead of tomorrow's strike, while the opposition has called for unions to respect the industrial umpire's orders.
Nurses must wait until later this month to vote on the state government's pay deal, after a ruling by the Industrial Relations Commission this afternoon.
The Australian Nursing Federation has all but conceded its members will have to accept the state government's offer of a 3 per cent pay rise, rather than pursue a 10 per cent claim.
The next phase of industrial action to be taken by Western Australian nurses - a ban on overtime - will start Wednesday, after weekend talks failed to break the impasse over pay and conditions.
