(PatrioticPost.com)- Nurses in Australia have taken to the streets, demanding that they receive a pay rise and are limited in the number of patients they are responsible for each day.
The health care professionals in New South Wales stayed on strike on Monday and took to the streets for the sixth consecutive day, demanding that the state government increase their pay and set strict nurse-to-patient ratios.
The nurses are represented by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association. It is their first strike in more than 10 years, and it started on February 15. Thousands of health care workers joined them on the streets, with many even traveling to the capital city of Sydney to protest outside of the New South Wales Parliament building.
Originally, the strike was only intended to last for 24 hours. However, after the union failed to make progress in achieving substantial changes to the working experience of its nurses, the strike continued.
Protesters carried signs that referenced the praise they received for working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, asking why they haven’t been compensated with raises or better working conditions.
“F*ck the praise…where’s the raise?” some signs read.
/antiwork Nurse strike in Australia at state parliament (NSW) #solidarity pic.twitter.com/RSc7sReSsw
— "Dr" Nichole 🤍 (@still_NunyaDB) February 16, 2022
The same message could also be seen on tee shirts:
scene at the Nurses Strike in Australia pic.twitter.com/YHSyPk9EK9
— OccuWorld 🏴 (@OccuWorld) February 15, 2022
After strict COVID-19 lockdowns and punishing work conditions for the nation’s nurses, it’s hard to imagine the Australian government being so blind to this obvious problem.
1000s of Aussie nurses ON STRIKE over pay and staffing shortages
Thousands of nurses in Australia’s New South Wales have defied the state’s Industrial Relations Commission, as they demand mandated nurse-patient ratios and a pay rise over 2.5%.
Their strike is the first pic.twitter.com/UWndH2Tf3N
— Tsjoender (@Tsjoender1e) February 15, 2022
How can nurses do their job properly if they are paid too little, overworked, and forced to oversee too many patients at one time?
Nurses are pushing for a wage increase of more than 2.5% after a wage freeze was implemented in 2020 at the outbreak of the pandemic. The New South Wales government has so far only offered a pay increase of 1.04 percent, which has not been accepted.
