Gunnedah nurses rally for 15 per cent pay rise

More than a dozen nurses and midwives rallied outside Gunnedah Hospital in their call for better pay and conditions.

The strike action formed part of a statewide protest by the NSW Nurses and Midwifes Association which is calling for a 15 per cent pay increase, plus superannuation, for all nurses and midwives.

Gunnedah staff said their actions were motivated by high levels of exhaustion and a “decade of wage suppression”, which coupled with the tough economic times, is taking a considerable toll on the sector’s workforce.

“As the largest healthcare workforce, it is essential to look at the investment needed to sustain our nursing midwifery professions into the future. The viability of our health system depends on it,” a Gunnedah association spokesperson said.

“Enabling nurses and midwives to achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance would deliver enormous benefit to both the system and patient outcomes. It will also help retain the knowledge and skills of experienced nurses and midwives, and leave a lasting effect on care.”

NSWNMA general secretary, Shaye Candish, said members were sick and tired of being undervalued, overworked, and not listened to.

“Not once in our 10 negotiation meetings has the (NSW) government sat at the table and discussed nurses and midwives’ pay,” Ms Candish said.

“Nurses and midwives shouldn’t have to foot the bill for safe staffing ratios in our public hospitals and forgo a decent pay rise – there’s no other workforce that’s been required to pay for their own resources.”

NSW Minister for Health Ryan said since taking government, improvements to the nursing sector include:

• Nurse retention levels reaching pre-COVID levels – as of June 30, 2024, retention has improved a further one per cent to 93.6 per cent over the past 12 months;

• Investing heavily in the nursing workforce – including $572 million to save the jobs of 1112 whose positions were unfunded from July 1, 2024;

• Rolling out Safe Staffing Levels – implementation is now commencing across 16 Emergency Departments across metropolitan and regional NSW;

• Achieving nurse numbers at record levels – the nursing workforce has increased by more than 2 000 FTE to over 56,000 FTE since taking office; and

• Removing the wages cap and delivering much needed wage increases – the majority of NSWNMA members voted to accept a 4.5 per cent wage increase last year, the highest increase in over a decade.