Hospital workers have walked off the job in Adelaide, protesting against state government plans to reimpose car parking fees and end free public transport.
The two-hour strike on Friday involved cleaners, orderlies, catering attendants and sterilisation technicians working across Adelaide's major metropolitan hospitals.
They were provided with free parking and free public transport at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the lifting of South Australia's Emergency Management Declaration has brought that to an end.
The United Workers Union said the action was prompted by the government's failure to take its concerns over the extra costs seriously.
"These workers are some of the state's lowest-paid health workers who will be slugged up to $1300 a year just to be able to get to work," union co-ordinator Paul Blackmore said.
"For a hospital cleaner who is making $27 an hour, imposing parking fees of $1300 is the equivalent of a pay cut of more than two per cent.
"That leaves them going even further backward when it's the lowest paid that also really feel the effects of inflation now standing at more than six per cent."
Mr Blackmore said the union was asking the government to show some understanding of cost-of-living pressures facing workers as petrol prices, grocery bills and energy costs soared.
"There is no room for them to move on this, and that's why they are forced to take strike action," he said.
On Thursday, Deputy Premier Susan Close said any disruption to services was always disappointing but didn't expect Friday's industrial action to cause major issues.
She said the government wanted the question of free parking for hospital workers to form part of enterprise agreement negotiations.
"So those discussions are ongoing with various unions at different times when enterprise agreements are ready to be negotiated," she said.
"The challenge here is we're dealing with something that was brought in as an extraordinary provision and one that always going to come to an end.
"It has duly come to an end."
Ahead of Friday's strike and rally, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said its members would not take an active role after a renewed commitment from the government to address the issue in its enterprise talks.
Australian Associated Press