Guy Metcalfe

Business Manager - Austin Health

Guy Metcalfe has been a union member in every job he has had since 1984. He has been a member of the HWU for 22 years which included membership of the BCOM of the old Branch 5 and has served as a delegate for 15 of those years.

Guy works as the Business Manager in the Physiotherapy Department of Austin Health, ensuring all staff are paid correctly, workplace conditions are met and staff have the best equipment and resources available to them to perform their roles.

Guy is glad to see that the union is continuing to grow and mature as an industrial force under strong leadership.

"I have a passion for fairness in the workplace, we all need to be paid appropriately for the contributions we make, ‘a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work’. I feel administrative staff have been largely ignored as a group by government and the hospital’s representative; the VHIA. It’s time we had a louder voice in EBA negotiations and having a separate Division should support that as well as some other ideas I have. But we really need to increase our union membership across the board, we represent a large part of the health workforce but have relatively low rates of membership. I see the next challenge is for yearly increments, paid professional development days and a greater understanding by hospital executives of the importance of the work we do."

Guy has a special interest in how our workforce is evolving, with a background in IT, he sees first-hand the effect of technology in our hospitals. Not just the devices used directly as part of patient care, but the applications used to provide support to our clinical colleagues. The number of programs and applications increase each year, demanding a flexible, skilled, clinical and non-clinical workforce. Training is needed for many of these tasks, some is provided but there is a need for a lot more.

The health system is often at the forefront of advances in technology and in the future, the clinical support staff are an integral part of this. 3D printing, decision support systems, simulation based teaching, artificial intelligence (AI) and an increased reliance on a myriad of computer based hospital systems will provide jobs for us into the foreseeable future. 

Guy has represented the HWU as part of a team in negotiations with VHIA, successfully arguing to abolish the old clerical structure and incorporating those employed under it into the Managers and Administrative Workers stream allowing for greater career progression and higher rates of pay.