After the devastation of COVID-19 and the suppression of pay through a decade-long, coercive cap on wages, it is time to rebuild our public health system, starting with some respect for the workforce.

Our fight for a 15 per cent pay rise has escalated with more than 50 rallies held throughout the state in July.

Our claim is fair and justified, and essential if we are to fix the staffing crisis in the public health system and to stop nurses and midwives leaving the industry or moving interstate for better pay and conditions.

If the state government wants to attract and retain skilled and experienced nurses and midwives, it must pay them a wage that reflects the vital work they do.

NSW public sector nurses and midwives are now the lowest paid in the country. In real terms, their wages are sitting at 2008 levels, while dealing with 2024 costs.

The NSW government must face up to, and rectify, the dysfunctional labour market that has arisen from the suppression of wages over more than

a decade by the previous government through its notorious “wages cap”.

It also needs to show it is serious about gender equity. While male-dominated jobs like firefighters and train drivers have seen significant pay increases, the female-dominated caring professions have fallen behind.

We are now losing many nurses across our borders, both north and south. In Queensland a new grad makes $12,000 more and is 18 per cent better off compared to a first year NSW nurse.

If the state government wants to attract and retain skilled and experienced nurses and midwives, it must pay them a wage that reflects the vital work they do.

OUR CLAIM IS BASED ON SOLID EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Two recent reports – one by the University of Sydney Business School and another by Deloitte Financial Advisory – validate our pay claim.

The first points out that nurses and midwives’ pay is lower than in 2011 and a 15 per cent increase is justified to make up for the distortions in the nursing and midwifery labour markets caused by the State government’s wages cap between 2011 and 2023.

The second establishes a business case to fund a 15 per cent pay rise and the roll out of ratios statewide.

These improvements – ratios and better pay – will attract nurses and midwives back to NSW Health and make our hospitals competitive with other states in the job market.

These reports by respected business experts identify ways in which the government can fund these improvements. So, it cannot keep using a lack of money as a reason to refuse implementing these improvements.

If they continue to say “No”, it is not because they can’t pay, it’s because they won’t pay.

VICTORIAN NURSES FOUGHT AND WON

We can take some inspiration from our colleagues in Victoria who have just won a 28.4 per cent pay increase over 4 years after a protracted period of industrial action – an outcome that will help retain and recruit the staff needed to rebuild their public health system.

Even though Victoria’s budget is in deficit, the government still eventually found a way to acknowledge the value of nurses and midwives.

However, it still took pressure and perseverance from ANMF Vic members.

MORE RIGHTS, MORE PROTECTIONS FOR UNION DELEGATES

As in all our campaigns we will need to be organised and, as always, we achieve success through the courageous actions of our members.

Branch officials, delegates and activists are the backbone of our union. Every day they unselfishly and bravely represent our members in dealings with their employer. They provide an important voice for nurses and midwives in our workplaces.

We understand this role can be very difficult. Many employers don’t want their employees to have a voice in the workplace. One study in the early

2000s found that 23 per cent of delegates experienced hostility from their employer.

As respected IR commentator David Peetz says: “This hostility can put a lot of pressure onto people who, in the end, are only volunteers”.

So, we welcome the introduction of a new framework of rights and protections into the Fair Work Act that recognises the critically important work that delegates undertake and the daunting barriers they can face in the workplace. (See more p. 19).

I hope these new rights and protections will encourage more of you to become involved in the life of our union as we seek to give nurses and midwives a greater voice and increase the power of our advocacy in the public and private health systems and aged care for our patients and residents.