Police officers in New South Wales have been offered a historic pay deal after a stealth campaign by their union.
But nurses say their calls for more pay are being ignored and are now ramping up their public campaign.
By simply crossing the border into the ACT, Stephanie Bell earned herself a pay rise.
The 27-year-old paediatric nurse grew up and worked her whole life in New South Wales until she couldn’t anymore.
“That small change has made a world of difference to my family,” she said
And it’s not just the financial cost.
“I’ve been shouted at, spat at, vomited on, bled on, bitten, shoved, groped and not a cent of hazard pay,” she said.
Sophie Kauffman packed up and left her family, friends and colleagues this week, for the same reason.
She is now being paid $600 more per fortnight in Queensland.
“I almost feel like I’m fleeing to another country because the pay disparity is so huge, it just makes absolutely no sense,” she said.
The issue of nurses’ pay in NSW is so critical, the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NMWA) is releasing a TV advert.
Today, the government offered police a 22.3 to 39.4 per cent hike, depending on their rank over four years, but rejected a request from nurses for a 15 per cent pay rise.
Union boss Shaye Candish from NMWA NSW said it was “incredibly disappointed,” and said members were “angry” the pay rise proposal had been rejected.
The association says the government still hasn’t budged from the original three per cent per year offer, despite the association’s concession they’re happy to be flexible with how the pay rise is delivered, as long as salaries are brought in line with other states.
“I can’t ask regular taxpayers, many of whom work in the health service, to pay more tax,” Premier Chris Minns said.
Nurses will walk off the wards again this Wednesday in a 24-hour strike.
