nurses and midwives pay rise

Employers must be accountable for taxpayer’s money

June 2, 2023 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

Assistant in nursing Susan Walton has worked in an NSW nursing home for 19 years and is a veteran of the NSWNMA’s long campaign for a better deal for aged care residents and workers.

She has lobbied federal politicians in Canberra and state MPs in Sydney, given TV interviews, and campaigned for aged care reform during state and federal elections.

In an online briefing to NSWNMA members, General Secretary Shaye Candish introduced Susan as one of the members who gave evidence to the aged care royal commission in 2019 about what it was like to work in a chronically understaffed nursing home.

“Sue did a tremendous job and really spoke about the experiences of working in aged care,” Shaye said, before inviting her to speak to members.

Susan said the commissioners “were kind enough to listen to us explain what was happening in our facilities and what we had seen. We were very grateful to speak about this and make Australians realise that we’ve been the forgotten people.”

Susan said she and her co-workers were very excited to hear that over 250,000 aged care workers were finally being recognised by being awarded a 15 per cent increase – “especially because we all work extremely hard and we’ve been forgotten for a long time.”

“RNs are in charge of so many patients and have so much responsibility.

“It is the same with us AiNs. In our case we do five people’s jobs; we don’t have cooks, cleaners, laundry staff or kitchen staff, and we also give out medication plus try to care for the elderly – it doesn’t work.

“Then it dawned on us that as we are on EAs, once again there will be no accountability and transparency for the 15 per cent pay increase (once the government pays it to the provider).”

Unless the government mandates that the money must go to workers, “we can’t really say we’re excited that we’re going to get this life-changing money”.

Susan encouraged aged care workers to join the NSWNMA. “I can guarantee you, over the many years that we’ve been campaigning I would not have been able to do it without my union being there to support me,” she said.

‘We all work extremely hard and we’ve been forgotten for a long time.’— Susan Walton

‘Ambitious’ PHS award claim seeks comprehensive workplace reform

June 2, 2023 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

The NSWNMA has lodged its claim for 2023 with the NSW Ministry of Health, outlining a comprehensive list of proposed changes to the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award.

NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said this year’s claim was unanimously endorsed by the union’s public sector branches, and was deliberately ambitious to secure workplace reforms, as well as to attract and retain skilled nurses and midwives in public health.

The claim also seeks a 10 per cent increase in pay and wage-related allowances plus superannuation effective from 1 July 2023.

Shaye said nurses and midwives in the public health system had seen “little to no improvements to their working conditions for the past decade”.

“Our members have campaigned for nurse-to-patient ratios for a long time. They shouldered the brunt of the pandemic for three long years, and they’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to deliver patient-centred care, often to the detriment of their own health and wellbeing,” she said.

“We have a comprehensive claim this year detailing evidence-based improvements to staffing across a range of specialty areas, which would increase workforce wellbeing and provide better support for professional development.”

NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the establishment of a Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce (see box) with NSWNMA representatives “would ensure the outdated ‘Nursing Hours Per Patient Day’ system converts to a minimum and enforceable safe staffing model within the award”.

“We are focused on continuing the fight for safe staffing ratios, relief from cost-of-living pressures, and decent wages that adequately reflect the work of skilled professionals,” Michael said.

“Our 2023 claim aims to ensure public sector nurses and midwives can deliver high-quality care to all patients, regardless of where they live in NSW, and we will continue advocating on behalf of our members for as long as it takes.”

Key features of the claim

Ratios applied shift by shift – based on the actual number of patients in each unit

‘Specials’ in addition to ratios or rostered staffing minimums

In charge of shift in addition to minimum ratios and without a patient load

AiNs and AiMs in addition to minimum ratios.

Plus a 10 per cent increase in pay and wage related allowances plus superannuation effective from 1 July 2023.

Download a snapshot of the claim or view the entire claim here.

Labor’s election win changes the game on ratios

June 2, 2023 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

A change of government in NSW is a victory for political participation by nurses and midwives and creates a new pathway for the implementation of ratios.

The Lamp talked to NSWNMA members in the public

health system about the election result and the consequences for public health in NSW.

An opportunity for change

Geoff Hudson, branch president at Albury Hospital, said from his personal perspective, the NSW election result was great.

“My partner [Dr Amanda Cohn] was elected to the Upper House, and is now the Greens spokesperson for Health. She has moved a notice of motion about reinforcing support for our ratios campaign.”

Geoff said Albury branch members were active during the election campaign, with street stalls and letterboxing with flyers for ratios.

“Nurses are very happy with the change of government,” he said.

Geoff said, following the election, his colleagues “are certainly hopeful but we are really just watching, waiting to see”.

“People think there is an opportunity for change to happen now.”

He said the Albury branch voted unanimously for the 2023 claim.

“Certainly, workloads and ratios are the biggest issues,” he said.

“We are in a bit of a unique position in Albury, on the border with the Victorian side a couple of kilometres away. We see a real disparity because they have ratios in Victoria and because they haven’t had the same pay cap that we’ve been subject to.”

Geoff said the branch will continue to engage with the community about our issues.

“Our next step as a branch is to try to get some local media to get ratios back on the agenda. And we want to make sure that all our members are aware of the new claim and what we are asking for.

“My biggest concern going forward is the lack of timeframe around the government making changes. The government has said they will implement ratios – although not the full claim we have asked for – but they have not put a timeframe around that.”

“I’m cautiously optimistic”

Alicia Rodgers, the branch secretary at Nepean Hospital is an RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

She said the election is a step forward in our campaign but we need to maintain pressure or “we won’t be able to make change”.

“I think it is really positive that members across NSW have voted in support of our 2023 claim,” she said.

“I’m cautiously optimistic, but I think there is a lot of work before we get any meaningful change in NICU and Special Care Nurseries.”

“My colleagues in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were subdued after the election. We are, unfortunately, one of the units that didn’t get a commitment from the incoming government to improve nurse to patient ratios.”

She said NICU nurses are asking for ratios of one-to-one in neonatal intensive care, one-to-two in high-dependency units, and one-to-three in a special care nursery unit.

“Critically, we are also asking for access nurses, which some of our adult ICUs have. We are also asking for things like lactation consultants. They are currently not available in all NICUs to support mothers to express milk for their sick or preterm baby.”

Alicia said a group of NICU nurses were able to engage with the new Minister of Health, Ryan Park, at the strike rally outside Parliament House last November.

“We spoke to him about ratios in NICU, and we really impressed on him why ratios are important.

“He told us he was listening, and we really hope he was listening and will have some discussions with his colleagues.

“We would welcome the Health Minister to come and meet with neonatal nurses to get an idea about what happens in NICU and Special Care Nurseries.

“All people in NSW deserve safe care from their nurses and their midwives; NSW should be leading our country in terms of health care, not trailing behind.

Excited but apprehensive

Samantha Gregory-Jones, NSWNMA branch delegate for the Canowindra Health Service, said her colleagues are expecting a change of government to lead to concrete improvements in their health service.

“We are a rural facility – a fifteen-bed facility staffed to run ten with ambulatory care and an ED – and we work with a base of one RN and one EN.

“For us [if the ALP delivers on its promise] it would mean having two RNs on a shift, and a third person all the time.”

Samantha said there was a mixture of feelings after the election.

“We were excited, but we were apprehensive at the same time. [The result] was kind of like we had a bit of a sigh of relief. Initially, my members were saying ‘It means another RN, and it means we are not working in isolation’.”

Samantha said that even though Canowindra is a small service, NSWNMA members were willing participants in the campaign leading up to the election – as was the local community.

“We did participate in the very first strike in 2022. We had all our members involved – about ten of us, and three of us were on shift.

“The community members who came said ‘We’re here because you literally saved our lives, and we are so thankful’.

“For the second strike, we all wore red shirts. On our shifts, we didn’t do anything that wasn’t about saving lives or directly impacting the patients: so, we didn’t make beds, we didn’t do the midnight timesheets.”

Samantha said there was strong support for the NSWNMA’s 2023 claim – inside and outside the hospital.

“We had a one hundred-per-cent-unanimous yes vote. Ratios are so important.

“Our local member, [Independent] Philip Donato, has popped out a couple of times and had a photo taken with us, and is very supportive. That is one motivation to see there is light. And we do feel as if our metropolitan colleagues are lifting us up.”

Private hospitals rally for ratios and fair pay

June 2, 2023 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

International Nurses Day on 12 May was a day of protest for nurses and midwives employed by St Vincent’s Health Australia (SVHA) at two Sydney private hospitals.

Nurses and midwives from the Mater Hospital in North Sydney and St Vincent’s Private in Darlinghurst went on strike and held their first ever joint rally in Sydney on 12 May.

The International Nurses Day action was the latest step in their eight-month campaign for staffing ratios and pay rises that match inflation.

A bus load of Mater nurses and midwives travelled to Darlinghurst, where they were met by St Vincent’s Private nurses outside the hospital.

“As we got off the bus, the St Vincent’s nurses cheered and applauded us,” said Mary-Anne Renshaw, the Mater’s NSWNMA delegate.

‘Unless they give us ratios, they are not enabling us to achieve teamwork, best practice and safe practice.’

— Mary-Anne Renshaw, NSWNMA Mater Hospital delegate

“We walked across the street together to the rally in Green Park. Cars were honking their horns, even the ambulances were giving us toots with their sirens. There was so much camaraderie – it was fantastic.”

Nurses and midwives carried placards that said “Safe staffing saves lives”, “Safety over profit” and “If we are outside, something is wrong inside”.

It was the third strike by Mater and St Vincent’s Private nurses and midwives during the current campaign. In addition, departments at each hospital have held shorter lunchtime rallies.

The work stoppages follow near-unanimous votes in secret ballots for industrial action.

Mary-Anne said SVHA management had unreasonably rejected union claims on ratios and pay “without looking at the larger, broader and far-reaching effects of their decision.”

“They haven’t budged on anything we’ve asked for – they put the kibosh on every claim the moment we ask for it,” she said.

“That has only made us more determined to continue the campaign. It’s actually strengthened the solidarity between nurses at both hospitals.

“We are totally unified in our desire to achieve patient-focused teamwork using best and safest practice. Unless they give us ratios, they are not enabling us to achieve teamwork, best practice and safe practice.”

She said if management continued to reject ratios, nurses and midwives would leave to take jobs in the public sector where the state government has committed to introducing ratios.

Sydney’s biggest private hospital, Sydney Adventist, agreed to ratios last year.

Speaking at the International Nurses Day rally, secretary of the NSWNMA branch at St Vincent’s Private, Kate Westwood, congratulated

all members who joined the industrial action.

“It takes courage to seek change,” she said.

“Over the last eight months of our campaign we have learned a lot.

“We have strengthened our communication networks, united together in solidarity, met with political allies and now have a state government that is committed to rolling out ratios in our public hospitals.”

Kate said that during negotiations, member representatives had “delivered very compelling statements about workload burdens, moral duress, patient care and safety” to management.

Despite this, SVHA had offered nothing to address the “crushing workloads and unsafe staffing”.

“Despite our cries for help, the SVHA leadership team is choosing to ignore its nursing workforce and resist reform.”

Kate said the state Labor government’s commitment to mandatory ratios “has left me and my private hospital colleagues concerned we will be left behind”.

“We cannot afford to let our brilliant nurses leave us for the public system.”

ACTU calls out RBA on interest rate rises

June 2, 2023 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

The ACTU has called on the Reserve Bank of Australia to stop hurting workers with interest rate rises.

The latest rise of 0.25 per cent means there have been 11 increases since May 2022, with a brief pause providing next to no relief.

Working people are bearing the brunt of fixing inflation but the real driver is corporate profits fuelled by excessive price rises, says the ACTU.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus says there is no wage-price spiral and it’s time to cease interest rate rises and for corporate Australia to moderate their profits.

“Working people are under immense pressure and this will make it worse. Ordinary Australians are struggling to pay the bills every time they go to the supermarket. Mortgages and rents have gone up an extraordinary amount as well.

“We can see inflation around the world coming down and that’s because it’s being driven by supply chain issues and by companies such as Qantas price gouging. The Reserve Bank should be calling that out, and putting pressure on companies to stop price gouging.

“The Reserve Bank is a very long way from the lives of ordinary Australians, who need wage increases just to keep their heads above water. Increases to the minimum wage and award wages this year are now more urgent than ever.”

“The Reserve Bank should be putting pressure on companies to stop price gouging.” Sally McManus, ACTU Secretary

The government does it because it can

December 16, 2022 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

The wage caps were first imposed to reduce deficits incurred during the GFC. When the deficits were replaced by booming surpluses, the government justified the policy with reference to low inflation. Now that inflation is spiking they just impose them because they can.

What was originally billed as a temporary, emergency measure to help the state deal with fiscal deficits in the wake of the 2008–09 Global Financial Crisis, has become a permanent feature of wages policy governing public sector workers in NSW.

The state government initially imposed a cap on annual wage gains for workers in state-funded public services of 2.5 per cent in 2012–13, supposedly necessitated by the modest deficits incurred by the state after the GFC.

Those deficits were never large: they peaked at $1.7 billion in 2012–13 – equal to just 0.4 per cent of the state’s GDP that year.

And those deficits quickly disappeared due to the combination of fiscal austerity and renewed economic growth. In fact, starting in 2013–14 the state ran a series of six consecutive annual operating surpluses (amounting to a combined total of over $20 billion).

This had no impact on the state government’s draconian wages policy: the 2.5 per cent pay cap remained in place, even as the state racked up record surpluses that reached $5.7 billion in 2016–17 alone.

Later the government tried to justify the policy with reference to inflation – claiming they were intended to be consistent with the Reserve Bank’s target of 2.5 per cent annual inflation. But when inflation leaped well above that benchmark, the government quickly dropped that justification for the caps.

Dr Jim Stanford of the Australia Institute said the wages cap policy is motivated by ideology and politics, not fiscal necessity.

“After a decade of sustained pay suppression, in good years and in bad, it is now clear the government imposes these harsh restrictions on public sector pay, without free negotiation or consideration of normal wage determinants – like the cost of living, productivity, or wage comparators – as a matter of political and fiscal convenience,” he said.

Wage caps have damaged the economy

A disturbing finding in the report is that the NSW wages cap policy has “since been mimicked by other states, by the Commonwealth Government and even by local and regional councils – all of which have been eager to dispense with normal collective bargaining mechanisms in order to achieve short-term fiscal savings”.

This, it said, has had damaging consequences for Australia’s economy. Specifically, it has led to “an unprecedented slowdown of wage growth across Australia’s labour market since 2013”.

“The NSW pay caps have had a particularly harmful impact on overall wage trends – not just in NSW, but across the country.”

“The NSW Government’s pay caps suppressed pay for all workers, not just its own employees – and helped set off a historical slump in wage growth that has be-devilled Australia’s macroeconomy ever since.”