Tasmanian doctors will receive a substantial pay rise increase of between 6.5 per cent and 8 per cent, effective immediately.
The Industrial Commission approved the increase, which is calculated according to the classification of the doctor.
Australian Medical Association state president Tim Greenaway said the commission also accepted that new classification structures should be adopted to reduce the need for locums.
“This will make the award more broadly competitive, it will allow us to hopefully attract and retain doctors at all levels and to secure the Tasmanian workforce,” he said.
A spokesman for the Health Minister said the Government would not comment until it had carefully analysed the complex decision.
Associate Professor Greenaway warned there would be industrial action if the pay rise was not implemented.
“We’ve had a pay freeze for three years, wages and conditions are uncompetitive and we’ve been very patient waiting for a decision,” he said.
Surgery waiting lists blow out
The development came as new data showed an increase in waiting lists.
The latest figures reveal fewer Tasmanians waiting for elective surgery are being admitted to the state’s main hospital and the list is getting longer.
The Health Department report shows a 30 per cent jump in the number of patients waiting for elective surgery at the Royal Hobart Hospital in the three months to last September, compared with the previous year.
While the number of patients admitted from the waiting list fell 10 per cent.
Waiting lists at the state’s three public hospitals in the north and north-west also increased by more than 17 per cent.