Thousands of Illawarra health workers will walk off the job on Thursday, as part of statewide stop work meetings to call for better pay rises.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One week after nurses and midwives took a 24-hour strike, paramedics, cleaning, allied health, admin, security, catering and wards at the region's hospitals will down tools for several hours.
The Health Services Union workers are campaigning for a "genuine pay rise" above the existing 2.5 per cent wage cap offered by the NSW Government.
HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said workers were asking for a pay rise which would allow health workers wages to keep pace with the cost of living, after two years of low wage rises.
"The last two yeas of the pandemic has really shown the drain on health workers, the under resourcing , and really put the system under a lot of pressure," he said.
"In 2020, they got a 0.3 per cent wage increase - so a cleaner got about $149 a year before tax - and then there was a 2.4 per cent rise last year, and now potentially 2.5 per cent maybe this year."
He said inflation was expected to hit above four per cent over the next year, which meant another 2.5 per cent pay rise would effectively deliver a wage cut to health workers.
"To make up for the 0.3 and 2.4 per cent, we believe there should be a 5.5 per cent pay rise this year," he said.
He also said the workers wanted their awards modernised, so that new qualifications and capabilities could be recognised and remunerated.
Mr Hayes said he expected that about 2500 to 3000 Illawarra workers would walk out, and that there would be a series of strikes and protest rallies in the coming months, as health workers campaigned to get both parties to commit to higher wages ahead of the March 2023 election.
"These people are tired, exhausted, overworked and undervalued, and that's the issue here," he said.
"If you could get health workers remunerated appropriately, not only does it go some way to lifting pressure, it also gets them committing to their community. Health workers who get a wage increase will spend it and that will then go through the economy in places like the Illawarra, to lift shop owners and so forth."
Tina Murrell, an HSU delegate and paramedic in the Shoalhaven, said her colleagues across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven had reached breaking point.
"The pressure has been relentless - in our region, Christmas was the tipping point and it's been extremely busy ever since," she said.
"We're waiting four or five hours to offload patients, or bed-blocked outside the hospital with COVID-positive patients."
"I'm speaking for a lot of people when I say we're at the point of having had enough. A lot of people are considering other careers, if they haven't left already, because it's getting to breaking point.
"Health workers have all been at the front line, and we're now two years in and things have not returned to pre-pandemic for health."
Workers at Wollongong and Shellharbour hospitals will stop work for two hours from 10am to noon, and there will be meetings held at all other regional hospitals. Paramedics in the HSU will hold a stop work meeting from 7am to 8am to vote on further industrial action.
A NSW Health spokesperson said all health districts and NSW Ambulance would have plans in place to seek to minimise any disruption or delays from Thursday's planned industrial action, and to ensure people in need of emergency care continue to receive it.
"NSW Health recognises and is deeply thankful for the outstanding commitment and tireless efforts of our healthcare workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," the spokesperson said.
"The NSW Government and NSW Health continue to engage in talks with the union and remain committed to reaching a resolution in the best interests of our patients and our healthcare workers."
"NSW Health will continue to work this week to mitigate potential impacts on patients, however some disruption and delays are expected, particularly as 4,669 healthcare workers were in isolation as at Friday 1 April due to being exposed to COVID-19 and/or awaiting a negative result."
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...