Faced with a chronic and severe shortage of nurses, along with budget cuts, reductions in bed numbers, and an increasing workload, 24,000 New South Wales nurses in the public health system walked off the job for eight hours on October 18. This, the first statewide strike in a decade, went ahead in spite of state government attempts to stop it.

Murphy was among 3,000 nurses who attended a mass meeting at Sydney's Town Hall and then marched to the state Parliament House to push for a wage increase to address the nursing shortage. The meeting was telecast to striking nurses across the state. Skeleton staffs were maintained at all facilities.

As part of the campaign organized by the New South Wales Nurses' Association (NSWNA), nurses first gathered outside the Town Hall, waving handmade placards and chanting. Passing motorists honked to show their support.

Sue Briggs, a community nurse from western Sydney, explained, "There are not enough resources to do what we have to do. Nurses are fed up."

The shortage of nurses, part of the ongoing long-term crisis in the public health system, is widely known. Patient deaths from errors attributable to worker stress and exhaustion are a common occurrence. A study in 1996 by Dr. Ross Wilson revealed that 18,000 patients die from complications each year in Australia, or 16.6 percent of those admitted. Half of these are considered preventable. This is four times the rate for U.S. hospitals in a similar study.

Inside the hall, speeches by union officials were interrupted by cheering, applauding, and stamping of feet. NSWNA General Secretary Sandra Moait received a huge response from the crowd. "This is about safe patient care," she said. "Nurses are working compulsory overtime and double shifts. There's no replacement for staff on leave. Angry nurses are voting with their feet."

The government has underplayed the extent of the shortage, claiming that only 1,600 nurses are needed. In fact, 2,500 full-time positions are being staffed by people hired on a casual basis. With permanent staff leaving, casual nurses are stuck in a blind-leading-the-blind situation, Unable to rely on regulars to keep them up to date, they struggle to gain the information needed to look after their allotted patients for the shift.

Nurses are leaving at all stages of their careers, with new nurses now leaving after one or two years. The average age of a working nurse is now in the mid-40s.

The NSWNA is demanding a one-time 15 percent wage increase to bring wages into line with those who have equivalent levels of training, such as dietitians and physiotherapists.

Also at issue is the increasing violence nurses face, particularly in emergency departments--often at the hands of patients frustrated by delays and substandard attention.

The state Labor government is refusing to negotiate. "They are hiding behind the fact that we are in the middle of a wage agreement previously negotiated--16 percent over four years," Moait said. "They say, 'Don't renege on your current agreement.' They say we are too expensive! We say, we cost what we cost because we are the lifeblood of the public health system!" Nurses roared their approval.

The union is also demanding extra pay for additional qualifications, ranging from $40 per week for nurses holding a hospital or graduate certificate to $75 per week for those with postgraduate degrees. Currently these attract no premium. As further encouragement, the union proposes a retention allowance of $10,000 to be paid after two years service.

The government is expected to rebuff these demands, at which point, according to Moait, the case will go before the state Industrial Relations Commission for arbitration.

Despite the antiunion atmosphere fostered by the conservative federal government on the eve of the November 10 general election, involving talk of further "industrial reforms" and much focus on the likelihood of Australian casualities in the war against Afghanistan, NSWNA assistant general secretary Brett Holmes reflected the fighting mood when he explained, "Unions have never been more relevant than in these uncertain times. We must maintain worker solidarity. A united voice is always heard over one voice!"

After the rally the nurses marched to Parliament House, blocking major city streets and again attracting honks of support from motorists. The state premier, Robert Carr of the Labor Party, and his health minister, Craig Knowles, declined to speak to the rally. The nurses chanted: "We're not happy, Bob!" and "Nurses, united, will never be defeated!"

Manly Hospital nurse Lyn Hopper summed up the stakes: "Patient lives are already at risk."

Jennifer Kyng is a member of the NSW Nurses' Association.  
 
 
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