Nurses and Midwives working in the public system from Lismore, Byron Bay, Casino, Tweed and Grafton rallied at the Tweed Hospital yesterday to draw attention to their plight - the need for a fairer wage agreement.

NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) is highlighting that NSW wages are the lowest in the country. The Northern Rivers proximity to the Queensland border highlights this discrepancy, as Queensland nurses wages are the highest.  

Higher wages over the border have left Tweed Hospital unable to fill beds as there is not enough staff willing to work south of the border.

Penelope Anderson, the President of the Lismore Branch of the NSWNMA says, “Queensland nurses are not only the highest paid in the country, they receive generous, uncomplicated incentives.

(The Rally. Image provided)

“In NSW, one nurse gets an incentive, another nurse doesn't. If you want to go for a promotion, you lose your incentive. It stops people’s career progression. 

“People get penalised if they work on another ward. Our pay scheme has been rolled out in such a haphazard way. And with no transparency whatsoever and really poor communication. The original guidelines and structure is just so vague.”

Penelope’s point is the issue of reduced staffing levels extends to Lismore Base Hospital, where she says, “it would not be uncommon on a shift that a third of the nurses were agency nurses.” Agency Nurses are paid up to 50% more than full-time staff and are only temporary.

“We have a very high proportion of newly graduated nurses, so nurses in their first year out of nursing. We nearly doubled the intake of those to fill our gaps this year.”

The newly graduated nurses and agency nurses provide welcome respite on the floor. However, both need extra support from senior staff.

 “You can imagine the agency nurses on a short stint who aren't familiar with New South Wales Health, coupled with nurses who are brand new to the system. There is not a lot of experience amongst them. 

“All these people require support from senior nursing staff.” And the more experienced staff are often being tempted to positions with higher pay.

15 or 20 nurses from Lismore attended the rally, adding to the 180 to 200 people in attendance.  

(Lismore NSWNMA Branch Officials: Keir Loughlin (MH Secretary), Penelope Anderson (LBH President), Claire Bathgate (MH Steward), Michael Sterling (MH Branch President), Ryan Hamilton (MH Steward). Image provided)

“It was just an amazing crowd of nurses there. They were pouring out of Tweed hospital (during their lunch break).” Kristin Ryan-Agnew from the Tweed Hospital addressed the crowd, and Penelope Anderson spoke for Lismore. Shaye Candish, the General Secretary for the NSWNMA spoke to support the actions of the region.

Penelope said, “We are passionate about our jobs, the community, the hospitals. We want New South Wales hospitals to succeed. We live here. We love this area. We don’t want to have to up and move.

“We want our friends and family to have the best quality care possible, and we want to provide that care for them. But we don’t want to be so disrespected and so undervalued.”

The debate is political. “The Queensland Government's putting their money where their mouth is. They say they value their nurses, and they're actually paying them accordingly, whereas Labor is doing exactly the opposite. 

“It says they value nurses, and yet we're getting a paltry, below-inflation offer of a pay rise," says Penelope.

“And the previous Liberal National Party government suppressed wages to the point where we have gone backwards for over 15 years. We're living on the equivalent of 2008 wages. 

“We are really, really sick of it. We're angry.

Many more rallies are being staged around the state. Follow the NSWNMA Facebook page for their latest information.