WA nurses will not demand hefty pay rises from the Government but will take action to protect conditions, the union says, as the deadline to thrash out a new three-year pay deal looms. The current enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) expires on June 30 and negotiations will soon commence on the next EBA, which starts on July 1. After threatening to strike on the eve of the 2013 state election, nurses secured a 14 percent pay rise. The State Government partly blames the generous increase for health costs blowing out by 8 per cent this financial year, forcing it to shed the equivalent of 1,163 positions.
