VANGUARD - Expressing the viewpoint of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
For National Independence and Socialism • www.cpaml.org
Representing over 25,000 nurses, midwives and health care workers in SA, the SA Branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwives Federation announced that members would recommence industrial action in the public sector last Monday (18/5).
Industrial action was suspended in February when the government made an offer of a 6% “interim administrative increase” in the lead up to the state election. Following the election, negotiations resumed over the ANMF’s full wage claim and demands for improved conditions. These negotiations have now stalled with no further offer forthcoming from SA Govt.
Negotiations had begun on April 30, 2025. More than a year has now passed, which is typical of how governments and other employers string out the process in the hope of weakening the resolve of their workers.
However, the determination of nurses and midwives for wages and conditions improvements is very strong. Earlier in the campaign, it featured some of the largest strike rallies seen in SA.
Health workers want respect
While wages and conditions are important, especially at a time of cost-of-living crisis, the ANMF says the campaign is about respect, saying that resumption of the industrial campaign is the only way to force the government to show members the respect they deserve.
This is important for public sector employees in daily contact with members of the public.
They want to know that their service to the community is respected by their employer, the government, and that they are not resented as a burden on its finances.
At the same time as their conditions of employment give rise to the need for struggle, their campaign is constrained by the professional nature of their employment and their concern to not place patients at risk by withdrawing their services.
This week, ANMF members started wearing campaign t-shirts to work as well as only fulfilling roles strictly within their job requirements. Next week industrial action will escalate to bans on non-clinical duties. If a decent offer has not been made by June, nurses will move to strike action.
Malin-Auskas: respect for the big end of town
The respect demanded of the Malinauskas government by the ANMF is slow in coming, in contrast to his service to the big end of town and to the circuses he uses government funds to provide in the hope that workers will forget to worry about bread.
In February, Malinauskas announced that SA would host the Motorcycle Grand Prix and take it from Phillip Island in Victoria. He has not revealed how much SA would have to pay to host the event, but it will be considerable as the operators had just knocked back an offer of additional funding from the Victorian government to keep it in that State.
He has also committed $45 million to redevelop the public North Adelaide golf course, firstly for the now-collapsed LIV Golf tournament, and now for a replacement arrangement with Golf Australia.
In August 2025, the state, federal and Tasmanian governments stepped in to pledge $135 million to a bail out of Port Pirie’s metal smelter and Nyrstar’s zinc refinery in Hobart. The state government invested $55 million with the Commonwealth spending $57.5 million and the Tasmanian government contributing the remaining $22.5 million. As of May 1, things are back to square one, with Nyrstar asking for a further government bail-out to continue its operations. (Nyrstar is owned by Trifigura, one of the three-largest commodities companies in the world. It had revenue of $244.3 billion in 2023 yet demands taxpayers fund its operations here. In January 2026, it secured one of the first two special licenses issued by the United States, to negotiate sales and to export Venezuelan oil. It has been mired in controversies and scandals around the world.)
At Whyalla, the SA government has firmly committed around $650 million to the Whyalla rescue and transition package so far. A further $140 million in “contingency” funds has been allocated.
The government has refused to take out equity in either of the Pt Pirie and Whyalla bail-outs, arguing that operations are best left with the private sector. His respect for them, and belief in them, is undisguised.
At the National Energy Conference this week, Malinauskas displayed his loyalty to the mining and fossil fuel industries by announcing that the SA government would move to overturn a ten-year moratorium on fracking in the State’s South-East which had been sought by farmers and grape-growers. In the past, Malinauskas has had family connections with the Santos corporation, and is keen to see them supported – even respected – by his government.
Whilst the bulk of capital costs associated with the AUKUS arrangements are met by the federal government, Malinauskas has thrown in $5.4 million to establish the new “Office for AUKUS” inside the SA government to coordinate the state’s role in the nuclear submarine program. That project obviously has his respect and support.
There are many more Malinauskas government handouts to the corporate sector and the military industries, but he declines to respect the hardworking people who hold our community together.
We demand better pay and conditions for our public sector nurses and midwives who are more deserving of our respect than the clowns providing circuses for our distraction, and the militarists who are driving the competition for our destruction.