More than 600 Victorian pathology workers are on indefinite strike after being offered a "zero per cent pay rise" while trying to negotiate their first new deal in a decade.
The Health Workers Union said staff at Dorevitch Pathology had walked off the job at midday on Friday.
"Our members will stay strong. They've waited 10 years for a pay deal. They will keep going until they get a fair pay rise," union secretary Diana Asmar said.
"For many of our members, their kids working at the local supermarket earn more than their mums."
Up to 70 per cent of medical diagnoses rely on their expertise and yet the workers earn less than $21 an hour, Ms Asmar said.
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She accused Dorevitch of paying agency nurses $60 an hour to cover the shifts, and of flying in pathology collectors from Queensland and South Australia.
Dorevitch has been contacted for comment. On Friday the company announced a $92 million profit on $1.7 billion in revenue for 2016/17.
"Our Pathology division has delivered above-market revenue growth and continues to expand its operations into specialty areas," acting chief executive Malcolm Ashcroft said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Ms Asmar said the strike means many regional areas will be without pathology services while the state is in the middle of a flu epidemic.
