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Nurses and midwives around NSW are sick of only ever getting praise - they deserve a raise.
The NSW Government’s latest pay offer is insulting to nurses and midwives. They’ve been offered a 10.5% wage increase over three years, which works out at an average of 3.17% per year after taking into account mandated super increases.
Nurses and midwives have tirelessly cared for our communities, on the front line of the pandemic and facing chronic understaffing and immense workloads in hospitals and healthcare facilities in NSW. Current staffing levels are dangerous, threatening the wellbeing of staff and patient safety.
The government has boasted that this pay offer is historic - but that’s after longer than a decade of the public sector wage cap in NSW, an outrageous 0.3% pay rise at the height of the pandemic (and during the International Year of the Nurse!), and a below-inflation pay rise last year that meant a pay cut in real terms.
NSW Health’s own figures show that the state lost 13.1% of its nursing workforce in 2022-23. That’s 5% higher than just a few years earlier. They are leaving for other states and territories or abandoning the profession altogether. The NSW government can’t continue to exploit their compassion.
Nurses and midwives in NSW deserve a pay rise that reflects the skills and the value they contribute to our communities. At a minimum, their pay and conditions must urgently be brought into line with other jurisdictions like Victoria and Queensland - where not only are nurses and midwives better paid, but where shift-by-shift safe staffing ratios have also been implemented.
These changes are essential to retain our skilled healthcare workers and ensure the continued provision of high-quality care to the people of NSW.
We need your help. Please write to the NSW Health Minister and Treasurer and join us in urging them to put a meaningful offer on the table that reflects the incredible skills and dedication of nurses and midwives across NSW.
Your support is crucial to make this happen.