Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie nurses and midwives ‘will not give in’ after failed NSW government pay rise talks
Coffs and Port Macquarie nurses and midwives join a statewide strike for a pay rise. It comes as they complain of breaking down at work and being abandoned by the government.
NSW
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Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie nurses and midwives are set to join others across the state taking part in a 12 hour strike for a 15 per cent pay rise on Tuesday despite the Industrial Relations Commission ruling the strike unlawful.
The stop work action is due to start at 7am and continue to 7:30pm – leaving only minimal workers – “life preserving staffing” – on hand.
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members are fed up and complain they have had 10 meetings negotiating better pay and staffing levels with the state government.
“Not once in our 10 negotiation meetings has the government sat at the table and discussed nurses and midwives’ pay,” union general secretary Shaye Cavendish said.
Health Minister Ryan Park declined to answer if the claim made by Ms Cavendish was correct or not.
“NSW Labor was elected on a platform of gender equity and supporting women in work,” Ms Cavendish said.
“They’re now refusing to fix the gender pay gap and not deliver the state’s largest female-dominated workforce fair and reasonable pay.”
Mr Park also declined to comment on whether or not the resistance to meet the 15 per cent pay request in the female dominated nursing sector was a gender issue.
The strike comes as Mid-North-Coast nurses report their colleagues are crying before and during work and morale is the “lowest it’s ever been”.
The NSWNMA Coffs Harbour Branch Secretary Joanne Cooper said nurses are “disappointed, angry and determined”.
“We will not give in and we are there for the long haul,” Ms Cooper said.
“We are the lowest paid nurses in the country by far and can’t fathom why a Labor government that has its roots in being the party for the workers, would abandon us,” she said.
Mr Park said the NSW government would continue to “work closely and constructively with workers and their unions”.
“Nothing is more important to me as Minister for Health than investing in our essential health workers,” Mr Park said.
“The NSW government has offered public sector nurses and midwives a 10.5 per cent pay increase over three years (inclusive of superannuation).”
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Originally published as Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie nurses and midwives ‘will not give in’ after failed NSW government pay rise talks
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