A plan for public hospital doctors to walk off the job last week was postponed after the Victorian Government challenged it on a legal technicality, a union says.

The plan to walk off work for 3.5 hours last Thursday would have marked part of the Victorian public hospital doctors’ first industrial action in 20 years, according to Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) Victoria.

The action would have involved ASMOF Victoria members at seven hospitals — the latest skirmish in a broader campaign over a new enterprise agreement for public hospital doctors, with negotiations stalled for a year.

ASMOF Victoria said it gave them two weeks’ notice of the plan, including the date, start and finish times, the health services affected and the nature of the action.