November 1, 2024

Unions

Groundswell of anger: Nurses and midwives strike to be heard

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In a sign of widespread frustration, nurses and midwives will participate in a 24-hour statewide strike next Thursday, over their demands for safe staffing to be guaranteed in all NSW public hospitals and health services.

A majority vote of NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) public sector members confirmed 94% in favour of the strike action, which will commence at 7am (morning shift) on 1 September and finish the following morning.

NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said nurses and midwives could no longer put up with the dangerous staffing levels and unsustainable workloads.

“Our members are angry, and they’re fed up with being ignored. We indicated to the NSW government earlier this year that we needed an open and meaningful dialogue with them about safe staffing,” said Ms Candish.

“We still don’t have mandated nurse-to-patient ratios in our public hospitals or health facilities and this is putting patients at risk. The NSW government is ignoring what’s desperately needed to ensure patients are getting the best possible care in their local hospitals.

“Our members are frustrated more than anything else because their concerns for patient safety have not been heard, and their professional perspectives and pleas for short and longer-term safe staffing solutions are not being acknowledged.

“Nurses and midwives are in a constant state of worry about their patients, and about what they can’t do for their patients because they can’t be everywhere at once. This is not sustainable.

“Clinical health professionals should not be in a situation which means that every shift they go to work, they have to decide which patient gets care, which patient waits, and which patient misses out.”

NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said both metropolitan and regional nurses and midwives were seriously overworked and the moral injury being reported was palpable, given the rising anger towards a system that’s preventing proper patient care.

“This widespread staffing crisis in our health system won’t simply go away as COVID-19 case numbers slowly start to decline,” added Mr Whaites.

“What our members are asking for is not unreasonable. They are simply asking for staffing ratios, a safer workplace and fair pay.

“There is growing evidence nurse-to-patient ratios do save lives and result in better patient outcomes, and legislated ratios have already saved the Queensland government millions of dollars.

“We are behind in NSW and more nurses and midwives are walking away because of what they’ve had to put up with shift after shift.

“We are supporting our members in taking this action to demand the NSW government listen to our calls for safe staffing ratios. If the NSW government won’t take action, nurses and midwives will.”

Over the next week, NSWNMA public sector branches will confirm details of public rallies to be held locally alongside community supporters.

During the 24-hour strike, life-preserving services will be maintained in all public hospitals and health services.

The NSWNMA also reiterated its ongoing willingness to meet with the NSW government to discuss members’ ongoing concerns.

Nurses and midwives’ fight for ratios rolls on

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Hundreds of nurses and midwives have called on the NSW government to take responsibility for the understaffing crisis currently hampering the public health system and voted to continue the fight for nurse-to-patient ratios.

During the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) 77th Annual Conference in Sydney, delegates and members described the widespread risks and chaos nurses and midwives are working under every hour of every shift.

A resolution moved by NSWNMA Tamworth Base Hospital Branch called on Health Minister and Regional Health Minister to urgently visit rural and regional health facilities and speak with clinicians to discuss staffing and workload issues supported by their union, without hospital executives.

NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said there was a high level of disconnect between the dire situation across the health system and the NSW government’s perceptions, given the reluctance to address ongoing concerns.

“Overtime and working short is becoming normalised. This is not safe staffing and the growing evidence of burnout and fatigue among nurses and midwives is beyond alarming,” said Ms Candish.

“Our members are fed up with being ignored by the NSW government and they are desperate for change. They have been put through enormous moral injury and are done being overworked.”

A reoccurring theme across the conference was a genuine commitment to continue speaking up and to pursue safe staffing on every shift, in every ward, at every hospital.

NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said it was imperative the NSW government started listening to the calls of the highly skilled clinicians and their professional input.

“Right across the state, members have indicated that not enough is being done to address serious safe staffing concerns and they are determined to be heard,” said Mr Whaites.

“Nurses and midwives, regardless of their specialty area, have been advocating to improve patient safety at every turn. It is mind blowing that the NSW government is not heeding the warnings of our members – they are ones living and breathing the crisis across our health system.

“It is unconscionable clinical professionals’ voices are not being heard.”

NSWNMA delegates and members indicated they would continue raising public awareness on the benefits of introducing nursing and midwifery ratios to improve patient safety and the future sustainability of the workforce.

New leadership at the helm of NSWNMA

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The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has announced General Secretary, Brett Holmes, will conclude his leadership at the end of this week after two decades in the top job.

Mr Holmes, who was elected General Secretary in August 2002, formally announced his retirement to delegates and members during the NSWNMA’s 77th Annual Conference in Sydney this morning.

“After careful consideration, I decided now is the appropriate time to conclude my roles as General Secretary, and Branch Secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation NSW Branch, and to make way for new leadership of our union,” Mr Holmes said.

“I am honoured to have served the Association and its members for the past 32 years in my roles as an Organiser, Organiser Team Manager, Assistant General Secretary, and then as General Secretary for the last 20 years.

“I have returned that privilege by working as hard as I possibly can each day with the interests of our membership, both at work and in the communities in which they live and care for, as my driving purpose.

“It has been very humbling and rewarding. However, I believe it is a good time to extend our membership a chance for renewal and allow our two exceptionally talented new leaders the opportunity to map the union’s best path forward.”

Mr Holmes first trained as a registered nurse in Sydney in 1980, then as a psychiatric nurse for several years before becoming a midwife. He transitioned from clinical practitioner to trade union organiser when he started work at the NSWNMA in 1990.

Mr Holmes was elected as Assistant Secretary of the union in 1999. He was elected by the Council in August 2002 as General Secretary and subsequently elected by members in 2003, and then re-elected unopposed in 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2018.

Regarded as measured and approachable by his peers, Mr Holmes has dedicated his career to fighting for improved pay, conditions and workers’ rights, as well as acknowledgement of the nursing and midwifery professions in NSW, nationally and around the globe. The NSWNMA’s membership has grown from 48,000 to almost 75,000 under his leadership.

Mr Holmes is a director on the board of superannuation fund, HESTA. For many years, he has also sat on the ACTU Executive, Unions NSW Executive, ANMF Federal Executive and Council, the NSWNMA Council, chaired the Edith Cavell Trust, and a director of legal firm, New Law.

Today Mr Holmes also announced the NSWNMA Council had appointed current Assistant General Secretary, Shaye Candish, as his successor and the Director of Strategy and Transformation, Michael Whaites, was appointed as the new Assistant General Secretary.

“Shaye and Michael are a dynamic team. Together, they’ll continue pursuing improved outcomes for all nurses and midwives, as well as persisting in our campaign for safe nurse-to-patient ratios across all sectors,” said Mr Holmes.

“Shaye’s genuine advocacy for nursing and midwifery, and the broader union movement, are reflected in her strong leadership qualities.

“Michael has been a dedicated advocate and strategic campaigner for our members over many years, as well as for the betterment of nurses and midwives globally.

“I congratulate Shaye and Michael wholeheartedly on their appointments and look forward to them confidently leading our union at the forefront of the movement.”

Nurses and midwives remain determined to speak out

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A resolute crowd of nurses and midwives from the health and aged care sectors have gathered to share their experiences and support each other to speak up on the widespread issues hampering their professions.

During day one of the 77th Annual Conference of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) in Sydney and online, participants reflected on workplace struggles and the ongoing pandemic.

Nursing leaders and academics from Scotland, Canada, the United States and Australia shared their insights into the supply demands on nurses and midwives, and a lack of preparedness to ensure health systems are adequately resourced.

Professor James Buchan from the University of Edinburgh explored research showcasing the global need for a better nursing and midwifery future.

“One of the underlying major concerns is that many systems are putting a lot of emphasis on individual nurse resilience to somehow continue to get through this and the reality is the emphasis should not be on the nurse to be resilient, it should be on the system to support the nurse,” said Professor Buchan.

President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Linda Silas, shared the common struggles to secure safe staffing and nurse-to-patient ratios.

“One in two nurses is saying ‘Bye bye, I’m looking for the exit sign, I want to leave.’ And we know that one in five healthcare workers, so that’s the whole healthcare workforce are looking to retire early and we need to change that very quickly,” said Ms Silas.

Bonnie Castillo, Executive Director of National Nurses United in the United States highlighted the enormous drain on clinical practitioners because of cracks exposed in the health system.

“Healthcare workers are done. They are done being applauded as essential while being treated as expendable,” Ms Castillo said.

Assistant General Secretary of the NSWNMA, Shaye Candish, spoke about the undervaluing of input from highly skilled professionals when health policies are developed and decided.

“The overwhelming pressures on nurses and midwives has never been more unrelenting. The uphill battle to have our voices heard remains, as does the need for your clinical insights and experiences to be afforded a seat at the decision making or policy drafting table,” said Ms Candish.

While Professor Joseph Ibrahim from Monash University summarised the extraordinary plight of nurses in Australia’s aged care sector and the lack of input sought from clinical professionals.

Professor Ibrahim reflected, “There were no nurses involved in the pandemic planning for aged care. There were no nurses actually working in aged care that are represented on any of those groups that were making the decisions.”

National minimum wage goes up 5.2 per cent

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The Fair Work Commission has ruled that minimum wage earners will get a $40 a week pay rise, a decision that was supported in advance by the Albanese government.

The decision will see the hourly pay rate rise from $20.33 to $21.38. The decision impacts 2.7 million workers on the national minimum wage or awards and came into effect on 1 July.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus welcomed the increase. She said the lack of wage growth has been and still was “a critical issue for our economy and we need concerted action to address it”.

“Our current system means that despite low unemployment, high productivity and record profits, labour’s share of GDP is at a record low,” she said.

“The (minimum wage) review is one tool we have to generate wage growth, but it only affects one in four workers – we need wage growth across the economy.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed the pay rise would help prop up the economy.

“If you are on the minimum wage, you are also spending every dollar that you have. Every dollar that you receive will go back into the economy into circulation,” he said.

“It won’t go into savings, not an overseas holiday. It will go into food on the table, for kids of people on minimum wages. That is what this is all about.”

Health and safety recognised as a fundamental right by ILO

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The right to a safe and healthy work environment has been enshrined in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

After years of campaigning by workers globally, the right to a healthy and safe workplace has been adopted as a new fundamental right at this year’s International Labour Conference in Geneva.

This principle now sits alongside the right of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labour, the abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

ACTU President Michele O’Neil, who spoke at the ILO conference, said that although this was an incredible achievement, more work needed to be done to improve occupational safety and health.

“Health and safety at work goes beyond physical injuries and includes risks to workers’ psychological health,” she said.

“Work-related mental health conditions are the fastest growing injury type in Australia. Our work must include eliminating psychological risk factors, including high workloads, poor work support, as well as gendered violence and harassment, if we want to continue making work safe and healthy.”

It is estimated that in the Asia–Pacific region there are more than 1.1 million deaths each year from work-related trauma or disease.

In Australia, 200 workers die at work each year. A further 5000 workers will die from occupational diseases, including asbestos-related disease and silicosis.

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