More than 700 planned surgeries have been cancelled in New South Wales with nurses walking off the job for another 24-hour strike. The Minns government is refusing their demand for a 15 percent pay rise and says it will only improve the offer if nurses trade away conditions.
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00:00Nurses and midwives on the march, with the premier in their sights.
00:06Pay us properly, pay us fair, recognise how much we care.
00:11The government's already paid an interim increase of 3%
00:14but nurses striking across the state say only a 15% single year pay rise
00:20will truly recognise the work they do.
00:22The nights are hard, the chief works hard, and for the younger ones the pay's hard.
00:27Under the 3% offer, a registered nurse in NSW would start on $72,000 a year,
00:33more than $10,000 less than in Queensland.
00:36Recent deals with teachers see them starting at $87,000 per annum
00:41and police have been offered a new deal that if accepted could see them start on more than $84,000.
00:46A massive pay rise for the police force and that is not to say that they don't deserve it
00:51but like all frontline workers, we deserve fair pay.
00:55We can't deliver 15% in a single year, that's not possible.
00:59We deserve to be paid equally to other states.
01:02We deserve the same pay as Queensland, as Victoria.
01:05The government says it's willing to pay more
01:07but nurses would have to agree to slow down the rollout of staff to patient ratios,
01:12something they've campaigned on for years.
01:15Nurses say those ratios are designed to protect patients
01:18so they have access to the care they need.
01:21It's not fair they're being asked to trade the ratios away just so they can get a bigger pay rise.
01:26It's an appalling situation for the Labor government.
01:29We are attempting to come to a consensus.
01:31The truth of the matter is, Mr Speaker, that's unlikely to happen.
01:34The government's also facing industrial action from the Rail Workers Union
01:38who run 24-hour services from tomorrow
01:41while at the same time limiting the distances its members can travel.
01:45The government's warning that will lead to cancellations and delays.
01:49It's like a boa constrictor and will eventually squeeze the life out of the network.
01:54The union says 24-hour services will be a win for commuters.