New South Wales nurses strike over staff shortages, virus stress

SYDNEY • Thousands of nurses walked off the job in Australia's largest city Sydney yesterday, protesting against staff shortages and pandemic-related stress.

Defying a strike ban, the nurses, decked out in scrubs and surgical masks, marched on the New South Wales Parliament over what they say are intolerable conditions.

They chanted their anger at persistent shortages of hospital beds and equipment and the grinding toll of the long crisis. They brandished placards reading "Nurses are not coping" and "'Thank you' doesn't pay the rent" - hitting out at political leaders they accuse of ignoring their plight.

The nurses had sought a pay rise of more than 2.5 per cent and better nurse-to-patient ratios. The strike staggered through the day and included staff from more than 150 hospitals around the state.

For two years, Australia's medical staff have worked under strict Covid-19 protocols, while trying to carry out day-to-day tasks and roll out an unprecedented vaccination programme.

But recent months have seen an explosion of coronavirus cases - bringing more patients and depleting the ranks as healthcare employees get sick or are forced to isolate.

"The community needs to hear the truth - current staffing levels are inadequate, unsafe and putting patients at risk," said the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association.

In a statement, the state's Health Department thanked nurses for working "tirelessly during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic". But it added that "there are more nurses and midwives in New South Wales public hospitals than at any other time in history".

Arbitration failed to head off the strike and the Industrial Relations Commission court had ordered that the industrial action not take place. That order was rejected, and union organisers said further strike action is being considered.

Strict border closures and aggressive testing and tracing had meant that Australia was free of Covid-19 for much of the pandemic. But the arrival of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to tens of thousands of cases and dozens of deaths every day.

About 2.5 million cases have been recorded in the population of 25 million.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS