Phlebotomists Casey Richards and Joelle Everingham are skilled clinicians who provide a vital service, for less than $30 an hour.
They are the lowest paid, skilled healthcare workers in Australia, and after 12 months of attempting to negotiate with their employer, Dorevitch, Yarrawonga’s pathology staff have had enough.
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Five phlebotomists joined with their colleagues around the state and walked off the job last Thursday, seeing only urgent or oncology cases.
Staff here can see up to 100 patients a day with an expected turnaround time of seven minutes, which includes taking payments and inputting admin data, something they were previously not expected to do.
They are paid less than $30 an hour, haven’t had a pay rise since pre-COVID when they were on the frontline collecting blood, and when required to work overtime, often at short notice, they need to apply to be paid overtime rates.
The most experienced, Donna Russ, has been with the company for 15 years, and under her agreement is still not eligible for long service leave.
“When I started you needed a background in nursing, now it’s a six-week course anyone off the street can do,” Donna said.
“They are paid the same as somebody who has been here as long as I have.”
Donna Russ has been with Dorevitch for 15 years and is still not eligible for long service leave.
All of Yarrawonga’s five staff say they love their work, but have all applied for other jobs.
Phlebotomist, Brooke Young said good people skills were critical alongside the clinical skills needed.
“A lot of people come in with some horrible diagnoses and going through some really hard times,” Brooke said.
“Some bring in their husbands or wives who have dementia and we need to be skilled to handle those sorts of situations ... in a seven-minute turnaround.”
Her colleague Joelle Everingham doesn’t want to leave her job but has been forced to look elsewhere.
“We all love our job; we love seeing everyone, but as heartbreaking as it is, we have to look because we have the same bills as everyone.
“You don’t want to work for a company that has no basic morals.”
Dorevitch is the Victorian branch of national brand, Healius, which recently reported a 3.8 per cent increase in revenue to $688.1 million with pathology revenue growing 3.5 per cent.
Recent staff restructuring cut the number of clinical workers and the accounts department and without that back-end support, clinical workers are having to take on the extra duties, using new software they weren’t trained to use, and without any compensation.
Like her collegaues, Brooke Young loves her job but has applied elsewhere, just so she can pay her bills.
Phlebotomists Council of Australia representative, Bec Luxton said it’s not ok to continue to make money and not give any back to the people who make it for them.
“Negotiated employer benefits are not being compensated by wage offers,” Ms Luxton said.
“Pathology a vital requirement, doctors can’t diagnose without it… none of this passes the pub test.”
Pathology collectors were recently recognised by the Fair Work Commission as having been historically undervalued.
The finding led to a reclassification and an increase to the base award wage from the beginning of April, but Yarrawonga staff say they are yet to see it.
Casey Richards said the support from patients had been “really terrific”.
“They keep telling us to keep fighting for what is right,” she said.
The company’s founder, Abraham Dorevitch was known for his lifelong empathy and support for the underprivileged and for those battling economic difficulties.
“When you read how he used to run the company before Healius took over, he was very big on his staff support and making sure that they had good balance and were looked after really well,” Casey said.
“I think it’s a massive disgrace to him and his name that the company he built is treating people this way.
“We love our jobs and are here to support this community; it would be great to have that support back.”
After 12 months of negotiations with Healius, industrial action is expected to continue for another month.
