Nurses and midwives from across the state staged a two hour own-time picket outside NSW Parliament today to send the Minns Labor government a clear message that they aren’t going away until a decent pay rise is delivered.
While Premier Chris Minns fronted Budget Estimates inside the parliament, NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members demanded his government directs new money into health to ensure nurses and midwives get fair and equal pay with other states.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said the NSW gender pay gap had widened because the government had chosen to disrespect and ignore its largest female-dominated workforce.
“The NSW gender pay gap is the highest it has been in more than a decade, sitting at 7.2%. Nurses and midwives make up the largest proportion of female workers in the state’s public sector, so if the government was serious about driving the gender pay gap down, it would deliver a proper pay rise. Instead, it’s showing it doesn’t value us,” said Ms Candish.
“Nurses and midwives shouldn’t have to wait until late 2025 for a decision on our 2024 pay and conditions claim in the Industrial Relations Commission. The longer this process takes, the more nurses and midwives we will lose to other states who value them with competitive wages.
“The government hasn’t moved from its original application and continues to think that 3% is enough to fix the gender pay gap and the staffing crisis in NSW.
“The government could put an end to this dispute right now by sitting down and negotiating a fair outcome with us.”
The NSWNMA is also calling on the Minns government to direct millions of dollars in new federal health funding towards nurses and midwives’ wages.
