Hundreds of cancer specialists walked out of major Queensland hospitals on Wednesday to protest proposed allowance cuts that would amount to wage losses of nearly $30,000 a year.
The workers included more than 300 radiation therapists and nuclear medicine scientists – experts who deliver targeted cancer treatment and pain-relief during palliative care – across hospitals in Brisbane, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast.
Radiation therapists who walked out of Princess Alexandra Hospital on Wednesday in protest of the pay cut. Credit: Courtney Kruk
Nearly 40 radiation specialists marched out of Princess Alexandra Hospital at midday, while about 50 nuclear scientists gathered at the Botanic Gardens near Parliament House.
The former Labor government introduced an allowance for radiation therapists in 2022 to recognise their specialised skills and increased scope of work.
A similar interim allowance was negotiated for nuclear medicine scientists before the 2024 state election, and is due to expire at the end of December.
Both amount to about $30,000 a year in pay.
According to the United Workers’ Union, the LNP government has said it will not include the allowance in the next enterprise bargaining agreement, which has been under negotiation since April.
The union’s Queensland Health and Ambulance Co-ordinator Fiona Scalon feared removing the allowance would lead to an exodus from the highly skilled professions, with some members telling the union they would move interstate if the cuts go ahead.
“A $30,000 pay cut is nothing to be sneezed at,” she said.
