Pineapple Group

The Pineapple Group is a collective of senior medical doctors, mostly medical specialists, in Queensland, Australia, who meet to discuss Queensland Health medical employment conditions and contracts. The name of the group originated from the group's traditional meeting location, The Pineapple Hotel, at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane. The latest meeting on 19 March 2014 was held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre due to the large number of attendants.
History
The group first existed in mid-2000s as a response to the negotiations on the Medical Officers' Certified (MOCA) Agreement with the Queensland public health service, Queensland Health. The group then became dormant until it re-emerged in 2014 due to attempts by Queensland Health to introduce contracts which were deemed unacceptable to a large number of doctors.
Membership
There is no formal membership of The Pineapple Group. Senior doctors working in Queensland Health, mostly medical specialists, consisting of Senior Medical Officers and Visiting Medical Officers, form the core of the group. Doctors are free to attend meetings and identify themselves as part of the group.
The Pineapple Group has no official affiliation with established medical unions and associations. However, representatives from the Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ), the federal Australian Medical Association (AMA), the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Queensland (ASMOFQ), the federal Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) and the Together Union have all been invited to attend meetings and given opportunities to address the group.
In 2014, the meetings have received widespread media coverage with news camera crews attending.
2014 Queensland Health Senior Doctors' Contracts Dispute
In 2013-2014, the Liberal National Party (LNP) Queensland Government attempted to change senior doctor employment conditions from statewide agreements to individualized contracts. There was widespread feeling amongst doctors that the contracts on offer were too one sided with too much power given to health administrators which may eventually lead to adverse medical consequences. The dispute was not about pay as pay offers were similar between the proposed contracts and existing arrangements for the majority of doctors. With the possibility of a large number of doctors leaving Queensland Health, Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman said he was ready to replace Queensland doctors with doctors from other countries.
Pineapple Group Meetings in 2014
Three Pineapple Group meetings have been held so far in 2014.
The first meeting was held on Wednesday 19 February 2014 at The Pineapple Hotel started around 7pm with reported attendance of over 550 people.
The second meeting was held on Wednesday 5 March 2014 at The Pineapple Hotel started around 7pm with reported attendance of over 900 people. Despite the fact that doctors attending the meeting had to formally sign in and provide hospital affiliation details, LNP politician Jeff Seeney challenged in parliament the next day if the meeting was of "union activists" instead of doctors. The surprisingly large number of doctors attending the meeting exceeded the capacity of The Pineapple Hotel, and the subsequent meeting was held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.
The third meeting was held on Wednesday 19 March 2014 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Over 1400 people attended in person. People spoke at the meeting included Queensland Assistant Health Minister Chris Davis, Queensland Health Director-General Ian Maynard, and federal AMA president Steve Hambleton. The latest government offer was rejected at the meeting.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu