SYSTEMIC and widespread underpayment of wages across the Victorian health system has prompted junior doctors in the State to file a class action.
An initial claim has been filed in the Federal Court of Australia against Peninsula Health, with further actions expected to be lodged against other Victorian health services in the coming months.
The case, led by junior doctors and union group, Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Victorian Branch, was pursued following the release of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria Hospital Health Check Survey, which found junior doctors work an average of 16 hours overtime each week, with some reportedly working an extra 25 hours a week.
Class action specialists, Gordon Legal, and Hayden Stephenson and Associates reported that 10,500 junior doctors were seeking payment of unpaid overtime worked over the last six years.
Junior doctor, Dr Karla Villafana-Soto, described the case as a "wake-up call to the Victorian public health network that must stop relying on tired and underpaid junior doctors to prop up a broken system".
"This is now my eighth year of being a junior doctor and I've worked at several health services in Victoria, and I can tell you this is happening everywhere," she said.
Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Victorian Branch President, Dr Roderick McRae, warned that junior doctors were facing "crippling fatigue", which placed patients at risk.
"Our junior doctors are crying out for help," he said.
"Fundamentally this is a systemic failing across our health system.
"Unpaid labour is ingrained into the business model and must stop."
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