private sector nurses strike

Tenacity wins 16 per cent pay rise at Ramsay

May 30, 2025 by Nurse Uncut Editor Leave a Comment

After more than 250 days of historic industrial action and three No votes, an overwhelming number of Ramsay members have voted to accept the company’s proposed enterprise agreement.

95 per cent of Ramsay nurses and midwives voted in favour of the agreement, which includes a 16 per cent pay rise over three years, of which 9.5 per cent will be paid in the next 12 months, as well as backpay from July 2023.

The new agreement is the culmination of two years of tireless campaigning by Ramsay nurses and midwives.

Ramsay is the country’s largest private hospital operator with 39 facilities across NSW including hospitals in Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Wollongong and Albury.

There have also been significant improvements to conditions including:

reduced patient loads for nurses in-charge of hospital
restrictions on non-clinical duties
increased paid parental leave for primary carers and supporting partners
increased overtime and weekend penalty rates for casuals
improved rights and paid leave for branch officials.

Ewan Gemmell from Southern Highlands Private says members should be proud of the pay rise and the improvements in conditions they won in the agreement.

“We started off from a base of 8.5 per cent over three years, and despite Ramsay saying it was the best they could offer, we ended up with twice that,” he said.

Jess Griffis from Warners Bay Private agrees that the pay rises were significant.

“The pay increases that we secured is the thing that people are most excited about. Another big win is an extra two weeks’ parental leave for primary carers, taking it to twelve weeks.

We also secured two weeks of parental leave for secondary carers, which Ramsay had never had before,” she said.

Jess says there are improvements in the agreement that should lead to better patient care.

“We secured a clause restricting the non-clinical duties that nurses do, like making beds or food services, which can be fulfilled by other classifications. That will free up nurses for more time on the floor for actual nursing,” she said.

“Another one of the new clauses means that the nurse in charge of the hospital will no longer have a patient load. At my site, we don’t have doctors on site 24/7, so if a patient is noticeably deteriorating, we now have an experienced person on hand to jump in.

“No longer having patients being cared for by the nurse in charge of the hospital also means that nurse won’t be getting pulled away from their patients to handle in charge responsibilities and can have full focus on them to ensure that they receive things like pain relief on time.”

Anne Allsopp, a midwife at North Shore Private, says there is a significant gain for casual employees in the agreement.

“Another big win was that casual employees will now get their casual loading on weekends. Previously on weekends they were paid penalty rates but not a casual loading – now they will be paid both.”

She said while the pay rise was pleasing, she “was disappointed with the lack of movement on safe staffing or ratios”.

“Hopefully, improvements in conditions and pay will mean that more nurses and midwives stay in the profession.”

NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, congratulated Ramsay members for their tenacity and determination to win better pay and conditions.

“This has been the union’s longest running campaign of protected industrial action and it’s a credit to each and every Ramsay member who took up the fight and didn’t give up,” Shaye said.

“Members participated in more than 60 strikes including converging on the Ramsay Annual General Meeting last year, 21 bargaining meetings

and three successful no-votes, which was a testament to their remarkable resolve to show they deserved to be valued and respected by their employer.

“As part of our claim we sought mandated shift by shift nurse/ midwife-to-patient ratios for all wards and units in Ramsay hospitals. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to achieve these crucial safe staffing improvements in this bargaining campaign but the fight for ratios continues.”

A Ramsay spokesperson told Workplace Express that “we thank our nurses and midwives for their engagement and feedback throughout the negotiation process, and we look forward to delivering the benefits secured in the new agreement”.

New branch leads historic strike

December 13, 2024 by Nurse Uncut Editor Leave a Comment

A newly formed NSWNMA branch at Healthscope’s Norwest Private Hospital in Bella Vista, Sydney, led the hospital’s first-ever nurses’ strike in November.

About 200 nurses and midwives from Norwest Private and another Healthscope hospital Nepean Private, held a roadside rally to alert the community to their claims of safe staffing and improved conditions.

“We got a great reception from the public, with all the passing cars and trucks beeping their horns in support,” said the Association’s Norwest Private branch secretary Sarah Keevers, who is a theatre nurse.

“It was reassuring to see so many nurses and midwives walk out the door and gather on the side of Old Windsor Road with their placards.

“ There was a real sense of camaraderie between nurses and midwives from the various departments getting together to fight for the same things.”

The NSWNMA’s push for an improved Healthscope enterprise agreement (EA) led to the formation of Norwest Private’s first Association branch in March.

Sarah said the branch resulted in members being better informed about, and more involved in, the EA campaign.

“If we didn’t have a branch, no one would know what was going on, which is what members said about previous EBAs.

“Now that we have a branch, there is a lot more discussion about the issues and far greater support for the industrial action we are taking.”

A LACK OF MANNERS

Formation of the branch has led to the appointment of Association representatives or stewards on most wards. They serve as a point of contact between branch officials (secretary, president, assistant secretary and vice-president) and members in each ward or unit.

Sarah is one of eight rank and file members on the NSWNMA bargaining team that has held

15 meetings with Healthscope management (at time of writing).

She said members were struck by the poor attitude and lack of manners shown by some management reps during meetings.

“While our reps were talking about our personal experiences on the wards and the importance of ratios, management were doing other work on their computers and answering their phones,” she said.

“ To have management reps completely ignoring the proceedings while a midwife is breaking down in tears telling her story is utterly disrespectful.”

Sarah said Healthscope management conduct improved when Fair Work Commissioner Alana Matheson began attending meetings as a mediator.

Strike wave follows latest Ramsay ‘No’ vote

October 11, 2024 by Nurse Uncut Editor Leave a Comment

Ramsay Health Care nurses in NSW hold historic work stoppages for higher wages and safer staffing.

Ramsay nurses and midwives across NSW have taken their first-ever strike action after voting against a substandard company offer for the second time.

Ramsay’s offer for a new enterprise agreement included pay rates below both cost-of-living increases and rates paid by Ramsay in Queensland.

78 per cent of Ramsay nurses voted in the ballot and 72 per cent of them voted ‘No’ to the company’s offer, which included a pay increase of 12.5 per cent over three years.

“The result sends a clear message to Ramsay that tinkering around won’t work – they need to listen and come up with an improved offer on pay and staffing,” said NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish.

Industrial action has included strikes of up to four hours, bans on overtime and working during breaks, and bans on a wide range of non-clinical duties such as cleaning, making and pushing beds and some paperwork.

Industrial action in this bargaining period is regarded as ‘protected action’ by law.

“That means our members are entitled to take these actions without management taking, or threatening to take, any action against them,” Shaye said.

WIDESPREAD COMMUNITY SUPPORT

NSWNMA members have taken their case to the public and won widespread community support.

Speaking during a 4-hour strike at Ramsay’s Albury Wodonga Private Hospital in August, NSWNMA Branch President Renae Maher said staff were calling for an 18 per cent increase, along with better working conditions including improved nurse to patient ratios.

For 16 months, this has been on the table, but Ramsay Health refuses to negotiate,” Renae told ABC News.

“They will not come to the party on nurse-patient ratios or a decent pay offer.

” They’re not interested in negotiating with the staff.”

She said the hospital was struggling to recruit nurses due to the pay gap between NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

“Why would you come to Albury when Ramsay Health Queensland nurses are paid up to 14 per cent more than us?” she asked.

The ABC noted concerns that Albury Wodonga Private Hospital would lose staff to the public sector, particularly across the border in Victoria.

In June, Victorian public sector nurses and midwives accepted the state government’s offer of a 28.5 per cent wage increase across four years.

“If nothing changes, there will be a mass exodus,” Renae said.

Ask Shaye: Bonus paid parental leave

August 2, 2024 by Nurse Uncut Editor Leave a Comment

I am employed with NSW Health. My partner is employed in the private sector and has access to 10 weeks of employer paid parental leave. Am I still eligible to access the two weeks bonus paid parental leave, even though my partner also has access to employer paid parental leave?

Yes. As outlined in section 5.1.2 of the Leave Matters for the NSW Health Service Policy Directive, you are still entitled to access the two weeks bonus paid parental leave. However, unlike employees who may be a single parent or whose partner does not have access to employer paid parental leave, both you and your partner must have exhausted your paid parental leave entitlements prior to accessing the two weeks bonus paid parental leave.

An epic year and more to come

September 19, 2023 by Nurse Uncut Editor Leave a Comment

We have accomplished a great deal in the last 12 months, but there is much more to do, says NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish.

Nurses and midwives have achieved significant wins in the public health system, private hospitals and aged care over the last 12 months, and these gains have created opportunities for even more improvements, Shaye Candish told Annual Conference.

In the public sector, “after more than a decade of campaigning for nurse-to-patient ratios, it was no small feat to finally secure a commitment, in the lead-up to the state election, to introduce safe staffing ratios in five key areas of our Public Health System Award”.

“Achieving this has been testament to the unwavering resolve of public sector nurses and midwives to keep fighting day and night for patient safety, better patient outcomes, safety in the workplace, more support in the workplace, long-lasting changes to workforce planning, and investment in the future workforce.”

But, she said, the NSWNMA remains “committed to fighting for as long as it takes to achieve our full Award claim, covering all specialty areas, as endorsed by public sector members”.

The union will also continue to fight for better pay.

“The previous government’s arbitrary wages policy contributed to falling real wages, made it more difficult to attract and retain vital workers, and undermined wage growth across the broader labour market. These caps were also a violation of workers’ basic collective bargaining rights, and we look forward to them being abandoned for good in NSW.”

Great ratio wins in the private sector

There have been terrific wins in  the private sector too, Shaye said.

“Thanks to the valiant efforts of members, we now have a commitment for minimum staffing ratios to be embedded in all wards, maternity, perioperative units, and the emergency department at Sydney Adventist Hospital (SAN), under a new enterprise agreement.

“Buoyed by the courage of their SAN comrades, and the high-profile public sector strikes, members embarked on historic protected industrial actions at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Darlinghurst and The Mater Hospital in North Sydney over a seven-month period.

“These led to an agreement that delivers ratios on most wards at St Vincent’s and the Mater, the improvement of staffing in all perioperative areas and improved wage increases over three years.”

Historic achievements in aged care

In aged care, massive strides have been made thanks to the perseverance, determination, and a willingness to win by our courageous aged care members, Shaye said.

Members have won a 15 per cent pay rise in a work value case heard by the Fair Work Commission, which has flowed through to all registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and assistants in nursing.

Importantly, she said, we convinced the federal government to commit funding for this pay increase to flow on to nurses on enterprise agreements too.

“This means, that for the first time in years, many aged care nurses will be earning wages competitive with the public and private hospital system. In some workplaces, aged care will even be paid more.

“In the May budget, the federal government announced a $11.3 billion taxpayer-funded commitment to cover the cost of the pay increase.”

Going forward, “we will be campaigning and lobbying for a worker voice to be developed into the legislation, undertaking a key regulatory role in this sector, through the enforce- ment of care minutes, which will be implemented from October  this year”.

“We also achieved success in our campaign to secure a legal requirement for residential aged care facilities to have at least one registered nurse on duty,  24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The challenges of COVID-19

During the pandemic our efforts to protect our members and patients led NSW Health to implement better PPE and fit testing, Shaye told conference.

This led to the NSWNMA winning the SafeWork Award for Outstanding Work Health and Safety support to members in the changed working environment due to COVID-19.

“Although the World Health Organization determined COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue that no longer constitutes an international health emergency, its impacts are still being felt – particularly in the mental health and wellbeing of  the workforce.

“Rather than pushing a destructive ‘individual resilience’ approach, which places the burden of a broken health system onto nurses or midwives, solutions-driven and system-wide reform is needed.

“We must see improvements in working conditions, as well as urgent investment in available services such as robust physical and mental health supports, more job control, and access to childcare.

“Our state government and the majority of employers need to understand that better conditions at work, lead to better conditions  of care.”

Minnesota nurses stage largest private sector nurses’ strike in American history

September 15, 2022 by Rayan Calimlim Leave a Comment

Fifteen thousand nurses in the American state of Minnesota have launched the largest private sector nurses’ strike in the country’s history.

The strike, authorised by the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) spanned sixteen private hospitals and seven healthcare systems across the Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Duluth areas. The nurses called for safe staffing ratios and fair pay across the affected areas.

Chris Rubesh, a registered nurse at Essentia Health in Duluth, criticised hospital administration for the conditions which made strike action inevitable.

“Six months ago, a year ago, our management would say, this is just temporary, we can get through this, we just have to do this for now and recently, the messaging from management has become, this is the new normal, and that’s when I realized, they don’t have any intention of fixing them. They are expecting us to continue to work in these conditions forever,” he said.

“We’ve tried legislatively. We tried to address this in contract language. Our employers refused to work with us on that. And so we’re left to take this extraordinary step, and we don’t take it lightly. We find it’s the only path to address the problem.”

Ali Marcanti, a registered nurse at Allina Health in St Paul, agreed with Rubesch’s sentiment, and indicated her disgust at the disingenuous way that hospital management have approached contract negotiations.

“Negotiations, in our eyes have been our employers’ opportunity to put their money where their mouth is,” she said.

“Instead of pithy statements, like ‘you’re a hero’, actually give us some substantial improvements to our work environment that make us actually want to continue working in health.”

The strike action was held over three days. Life-preserving care was provided throughout the duration of the action, with patient levels reduced and replacement nurses employed during the strike.