On June 16, the Queensland Nurses' Union (QNU) condemned the new computerised payroll system that has caused ongoing problems with wage and allowance payments to staff in the public health system.
In a statement the QNU said: "This week will mark the seventh pay run under Queensland Health's new payroll system. It is a debacle of monumental proportions.”
"Like the six pay runs that have preceded this one, the QNU has no faith whatsoever that nurses and midwives will be paid correctly. Every day we take calls from frustrated and distressed members who have been paid incorrectly or haven't been paid key entitlements like superannuation.
“Some members aren't accruing annual leave and days off, while others haven't been paid at all.”
QNU secretary Gay Hawksworth said the union's "worst nightmare" had been realised, when Health Minister Paul Lucas said he could not rule out another year of problems with nurses' pay.
"The continuing viability of this pay system needs to be considered — it might be that we need a new payroll system," she said in the June 13 Courier-Mail.