Epic Pharmacy have proposed to cut Hospital pharmacy workers’ wages and conditions. This offer is a serious blow to the standard of pay, conditions and patient safety in private hospital pharmacy in Queensland.
Pharmacy workers are the lowest paid health professionals in Australia, while the companies they work for continue to make record profits. It’s time that we stand with pharmacy workers to ensure they are paid fairly and can protect the important services they provide to our community.
Epic want to pay pharmacists with 5 years’ experience $7.62 less per hour -that’s $15, 057 less per year. Pharmacists will also be paid $95 less per Sunday worked, and staff and patients will be losing advanced level pharmacist and technician roles.
PPA has been fighting to maintain pay and conditions, and to ensure safe workloads in pharmacies so they can provide a good service to patients. Epic has refused to accept any process to safely manage workload.
Massive reductions in pay and conditions will mean higher turnover, more work for doctors and nurses, and could affect patient safety.
Will you support your local hospital pharmacists to protect professional hospital standards? Sign our petition today to stop the cuts and reductions to our health professionals.
*Figures based on current UCH EBA classification framework & conditions, including Sunday call out rates.
Why is this important?
Hospital pharmacists provide essential services to our community. Cutting pharmacists wages and conditions, including removing senior level roles means patients won’t have access to experienced pharmacists. Patients rely heavily on senior pharmacists to provide advice and get dosages right – it’s just wrong to compromise these patients and penalise staff by cutting their working conditions and pay.
