Struggling frontline workers take on second jobs ... including in QLD

When Sydney nurse Leanne Hawkins goes to work, she knows she won’t see her husband for weeks – because her second job is in Queensland. Ms Hawkins is among a rising number of frontline workers taking on second jobs to make ends meet.

The findings are contained in a Unions NSW survey of more than 7000 union and non-union public sector employees come as nurses, fireys and police ramp up their demands for pay rises.

The union has warned the state is facing “an exodus of workers” in the coming years as cash-strapped nurses, police, prison officers and other public sector employees head elsewhere for work.

The survey found 42 per cent of staff are considering moving interstate for a similar job, with the same amount working a second job or considering finding one.

The crisis was more acute for health workers, with almost 70 per cent of workers considering an interstate move – up from 46 per cent two years ago – while 56 per cent had taken on a second job or were thinking about it.

The responses came from nurses, paramedics, teachers, school assistants and justice workers, transport and customer service workers.

Nurses Leanne Hawkins, 58, and her daughter Erin Hawkins, 29, are taking on second jobs to make ends meet. In the case of Leanne, she is now flying in-flying out of Queensland where she takes on jobs for weeks at a time to pay her Sydney mortgage. Picture: Jonathan Ng

After the NSW Budget, the government declared public sector workers would receive a 10.5 per cent pay rise over three years with a $1000 top-up if inflation exceeded 4.5 per cent.

The NSW Nurses & Midwives’ Association is demanding an immediate 15 per cent pay increase while the Police Association of NSW are seeking a 25 per cent salary boost over four years and the Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) wants 20 per cent over three years for its members.

Registered nurse Leanne Hawkins, 58, from Spring Farm in southwest Sydney has been taking on work in Queensland to bolster her salary while juggling casual shifts in NSW. The former NSW Health nurse said she could earn about $80 an hour working as an agency nurse with Queensland Health, which also paid for her flights and accommodation.

Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said: “NSW’s already-stretched essential services are facing a mass exodus of workers looking interstate for decent pay that keeps their heads above water”.

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Originally published as Struggling frontline workers take on second jobs ... including in QLD