Nurses and midwives vote to accept the Minns government’s pay deal

Nurses and midwives have voted to accept the Minns government’s wage offer in a short term ceasefire in their fight for a “meaningful” pay rise that exceeds the rate of inflation.

Nurses and midwives have voted to accept the Minns government’s wage offer in a short-term ceasefire in their fight for a “meaningful” pay rise that exceeds the rate of inflation.

The vote means public ­sector nurses and midwives will get a 4 per cent pay rise this year and an additional 0.5 per cent in superannuation.

In a vote of NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) members, 58 per cent of branches voted to accept the pay offer.

But the union is set to ­continue campaigning for a better deal.

“There’s an awful lot of our members who have taken the 4 per cent because times are tough and they can’t wait any longer,but they all know that 4 per cent is not enough to help reform the healthcare system,” NSWNMA assistant general secretary Michael Whaites said.

NSW nurses and midwives have accepted a wage rise offer from the premier after months of negotiations. Picture: David Swift

“We will spend the next 11 months campaigning for better pay and a meaningful pay rise for nurses and midwives in the public sector.”

While accepting the one-year offer, the union is set to continue campaigning for a pay rise that is “at least more than inflation”, Mr Whaites said.

Health Minister Ryan Park said the NSW government was “committed to supporting our essential frontline workers and we’re working hard to recruit, retain and support our workforce.”

The deal marks a breakthrough for NSW Premier Chris Minns, who is facing ­a revolt from a number of key unions.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey first offered public sector workers a one-year 4.5 per cent pay rise (including a 0.5 per cent increase to inflation) in June, costing $618m.

It was immediately criticised by union leaders who said the offer was not good enough.

The premier is still working to ink similar deals with teachers and rail workers. Picture: Nikki Short

Last week, NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos accused Mr Minns of “betrayal” after a breakdown in wage negotiations.

He accused the government of walking away from a deal to increase teachers’ pay by up to 12 per cent.

Health Services Union ­paramedics have also walked away from negotiations over the Minns government’s one-year 4.5 per centpay rise, last week announcing that members would refuse to be on standby at some major sporting events.

It follows strikes from teachers in 2022.

Rail strikes also caused commuter chaos amid the pay dispute with the previous government last year.

Last week, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) slammed the government for pushing ahead with a project to convert the T3 Sydenham to Bankstown heavy rail line to a Metro system.

“The union fears hundreds of job losses among staff who currently work on the T3 line and are sceptical over plans for a 100-strong fleet of buses which will serve the area while the line is closed,” RTBU NSW locomotive division secretary Farren Campbell said.

“The NSW government needs to put forward its case for how exactly the conversion will benefit commuters if tens of thousands of people won’t know if they’ll be able to get a train beyond 2024.

“The only benefit of this project is to property developers while we will see job losses, ­decreased safety, reduced ability to recover from incidents, reduced services and years of dysfunction.”

Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis said the government was working on fixing the “

recruitment and retention crisis”.

“The people of NSW deserve world class public services. We will continue to keep people at the heart of all of our work,” she said.