A NSWNMA rally on the far north coast got an unexpected boost from workers building the new Tweed Valley Hospital.
The day before Tweed Hos-pital nurses and midwives went on strike, building workers attached two big banners to the safety railings of Tweed Valley Hospital now under construction on the state’s far north coast.
Hung between the 4th and 5th floors of the site, the banners read “Ratios – put patient safety first”.
Construction union members attached the banners at the request of the Tweed Hospital branch of the NSWNMA.
Branch president Kristin Ryan-Agnew said the branch was finding it difficult to drum up media interest in the strike until the banners went up.
“Photos of the banners went all over social media. That got the press interested – they started ringing our branch officials for comment,” she said.
The NSW Health Ministry report-edly contacted construction site management and told them to remove the banners.
However construction unions refused to take them down and even offered to put up bigger ones.
The construction site was the venue for a rally attended by more than 100 nurses and midwives from Tweed, Murwillumbah, Ballina and Byron hospitals.
Kristin said the building unions – CFMEU, plumbers union and electricians union – gave the rally “amazing support”.
“The CFMEU stopped all trucks coming onto the site and shut the gates for our safety.
“Every worker on the site – close to 400 of them – stopped work and joined us.
“They lined up behind us and joined in our chants – it was so loud it seemed like the ground was shaking.
“We gave our speeches in front of the gate with members of the public videoing the rally.
“Lots of building workers came up to us and said they were happy to support us because their relatives and friends were nurses and they knew what our conditions were like. They said they couldn’t believe the conditions we worked under.”
Kristin said the rally got younger nurses in particular “really fired up – it’s created a real buzz around the hospital and made people more invested in the issues.”
“We’re so happy we got the support of the construction unions because it’s made the community sit up and take notice.
“They’re starting to realise that this magnificent structure sitting on the hill isn’t as wonderful as it’s made out to be if we can’t staff it safely.”
Tweed Valley Hospital is due to be finished in June 2023 and receive the first patients in November.
However it is most unlikely to be adequately staffed given that the existing nearby Tweed Hos-pital struggles with a critical nurse shortage.
Many nurses have left to take jobs at Gold Coast University Hospital and other Queensland health facilities just over the state border, where nurse-to-patient ratios and higher wages are on offer.
“We estimate a first year RN in Queensland earns $22,916 more than their counterpart in NSW,” Kristin said.