Nurses and midwives working for the country’s second largest private hospital operator, Healthe Care, stopped work for two hours in Wollongong and Shellharbour today after voting overwhelmingly in support of taking protected industrial action in their fight for enforceable staffing ratios and fair pay.
Hundreds of NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members working for Healthe Care will take part in a series of escalating industrial actions over the coming months, in a bid to send a stern message to the private hospital operator that its frontline staff deserve better.
Healthe Care, which is funded by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), operates 13 private hospitals and day surgeries across the Hunter, Central Coast, Illawarra, Mid North Coast, Central West and Sydney regions, including acquiring Prince of Wales Private Hospital from embattled operator, Healthscope.
Members will consider a range of industrial actions over the coming weeks including stop works, overtime bans, refusing to perform non-clinical duties like emptying bins and cleaning, wearing campaign scrubs and distributing flyers to patients and visitors.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said nurses and midwives were feeling disrespected by Healthe Care after protracted negotiations stalled.
“After six months at the bargaining table, Healthe Care has failed to put forward a decent wages and conditions offer to our members – an offer that recognises and values their critical contribution and service to more than a dozen private hospitals across NSW, and takes into account rising cost of living pressures,” said Mr Whaites.
“Our members are eager to put an end to this drawn-out saga. However, they won’t settle on a proposal that will see them worse off than their public sector colleagues when it comes to both pay and conditions.
“Healthe Care is refusing to budge on its final pay offer which is below inflation: as little as 2.4% in 2026, 3% in 2027, and 3% in 2028.
“As part of negotiations, the Association has been demanding pay parity for nurses at Healthe Care’s Waratah Private Hospital who are on the even lower paid Federal Nurses Award rather than the Healthe Care enterprise agreement. We will continue to fight for this important change to ensure nurses who are doing the same job receive the same pay, no matter which site they work at.
“We are calling on Healthe Care’s CEO and board to put a respectful pay offer on the table and deliver ratios or risk losing more of its nurses and midwives.”
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Katrina Bough, said members were rightly frustrated and ready to take up the fight publicly.
“Our Protected Action Ballot resulted in a 96.5% ‘yes’ vote to commence industrial action, with three quarters of our members at Healthe Care sites taking part in the ballot,” said Ms Bough.
“We are extremely disappointed Healthe Care is refusing to agree to enforceable shift by shift nurse-to-patient ratios, unlike the public health system which is currently rolling out this vital staffing reform throughout the state.
“Our members are dealing with more complex patients, yet despite this growing demand on the private health system, operators like Healthe Care are not willing to implement safe staffing ratios to reduce burnout and ensure patients receive timely, safe care.
“The decision to take protected industrial action has not been taken lightly, but Healthe Care has repeatedly refused to come to the table with an offer that reflects what our nurses and midwives deserve.”
The NSWNMA has given Healthe Care notice and will work with it to ensure safe patient care continues.
