Queensland Government to launch legal action in the SMO contracts dispute #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors
QH lodged its application on Friday against the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation and its president Dr Tony Sara, the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association and the Together Union and its secretary Alex Scott, in a bid to stop the circulation of specific documents the Government says are misleading.
It comes as a group of surgeons say they have agreed to walk over the contracts issue, and Premier Campbell Newman and Health Minister Lawrence Springborg feel increasing pressure to resolve the dispute.
QH director-general Ian Maynard told The Sunday Mail he believed the Government had been left with no choice but to seek an injunction for “a number” of documents after failed attempts to have the information corrected.
I’ve thought long and hard about what steps we can take and having spent the last 10 days travelling around the state … I have never experienced the level of emotional hysteria that I have seen in those discussions,” he said.
“Doctors are simply very confused about what’s being offered by the Government and the effect of what is being offered on their lives, their employment. To a large extent that confusion is caused by misrepresenting facts, by dressing up union opinion as legal advice.”
Mr Maynard said the Government was not seeking to stop unions and medical associations from consulting and informing members, as long as the information was factual.
Mr Scott, however, said the organisations intended to fight the action, accusing the Government of bullying.
“Doctors’ representatives and doctors aren’t going to be bullied by legalistic strategies. It’s just a sign of the desperation,” Mr Scott said.
“We certainly think what we are saying is factually accurate. Clearly the Government doesn’t want this debate to continue because they are losing the discussion.”
The unions are ramping up their campaign against the Newman Government contracts, regardless of the legal action, by opening a call centre to phone medicos about “important issues relating to the contracts’’.
An email to doctors, sent Friday night, states: “If you are called by one of our call centre staff, please provide as much detail as you can”.
The call centre is being operated by the Together Union and the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation, which have already rolled out a series of advertisements and letters attacking the Newman Government.
Source: Daily Telegraph