Members of Together are upset that the government’s handling of the Health Payroll crisis is continuing to hurt members, Together Assistant Secretary Julie Bignell said today.

“The government’s announcement of the lifting of the moratorium on payment recovery two weeks before Christmas is very poor timing,” Ms Bignell said.

“Whilst we all agree that overpayments must be repaid, making an announcement without any detail two weeks before Christmas is not the best way to go about it,” she said.

“The general discussions about lifting the payroll moratorium did not include any mention of this pre-Christmas timing and if they did we would never have agreed to it.

“We are also yet to agree on the detail and timing of any staged removal of the moratorium.  

“It’s insensitive to introduce more anxiety before Christmas to Queensland Health workers who have suffered enough this year.

“We call on Queensland Health to fully consult with us and our members before progressing the removal of the moratorium beyond the high value overpayments. This could have waited until after Christmas,” Ms Bignell said.

“We look forward to detailed discussions about lifting the moratorium prior to any further announcements by government.”