On Wednesday, public sector nurses and midwives across New South Wales (NSW) staged a 24-hour strike in opposition to the state Labor government’s real pay offer. For a full report on the strike, click here.

Reporters for World Socialist Web Site spoke to striking health workers attending demonstrations in Sydney and Taree about Labour’s pay attack and the dire conditions they face at work.

****

Erik from Gosford said: “We haven’t had a pay rise for ten or so years. We feel cheated by the government. We are doing everything we can to help the community but do not have enough staff to do so.

“We have to do three years of university to get in and pay for it ourselves through HECS debt. If the government wants to be fair in doing right by society, then they must pay nurses a fair wage or they will go and get other jobs.

“The situation is getting dire. This isn’t just about us, it’s about the impact this has on the whole community and its overall health.

“I have worked through covid but the situation in the hospital now is worse because we have lost many nurses in the process. Those who had thought about early retirement just decided to walk out.

“Minn’s government, which we were told would think about the workers, has come in and refuses to give us decent wages. It’s hypocritical and dishonest.”

A Bankstown Hospital nurse who wished to remain anonymous said: “I started my career as a nurse ten years ago and first worked in a country hospital. The pay wasn’t high, but my cost of living was much lower, and inflation was nothing like it is now.

“In 2014 I was paying $500 a fortnight for accommodation, now I’m paying $875 a week for a mortgage. It’s becoming impossible.

“I’m in an emergency and always under pressure. The union told us it had an agreement with the Labor government to bring in 1-to-3 ratios after the state election, but that hasn’t happened and we have no idea whether this will change.

“Instead of getting more staff, more and more people are leaving because of the low wages.”

Yasmina registered nurse from Westmead Hospital in western Sydney, said: “We need someone in government who will represent nurses and other health workers. I don’t know how we’re going to achieve that, but we definitely need this. All we’re asking from the government in Minns is a 15 percent pay rise, even if this isn’t enough to compensate for what we need and deserve.

“They want to talk about covid being in the past, but it’s still here. We still have a lot of sick people in the hospitals but not enough staff to take care of them. We’re overworked and we’re underpaid. It’s very bleak in the hospital right now and we are really struggling.

“Nurses get sick because they work ridiculous amounts of overtime to cover staff shortages. I do at least one overtime shift a week – you’re expected to do that as a minimum.”