2 weeks Ago By Neve Brissenden
Train drivers and nurses are threatening crippling industrial action, marking the latest headache for the NSW government as frontline workers push for major pay increases. Login or signup to continue reading Nurses and midwives will stop work for 24 hours on Wednesday after failing to come to an agreement during four weeks of intensive pay negotiations. NSW Nurses and Midwives Association general secretary Shaye Candish said the government was refusing to move on the wage deal, leaving workers with no choice.
"Our members are extremely frustrated and disheartened," she said. "They have been holding on for an outcome on better pay, juggling challenging working conditions, trying to manage their bills in a cost-of-living crisis and now they feel terribly let down." All NSW public-sector workers have been offered a blanket 10.
5 per cent pay rise over three years, including mandatory increases in superannuation payments. But nurses and midwives have been asking for an immediate 15 per cent wage increase. Ms Candish said the government was not willing to put any new money on the table and did not have a solution to address the interstate pay disparity.
In the largest rally against the Labor government since coming to power, at least 5000 nurses and midwives took to the streets during a 24-hour stop-work in September, affecting hundreds of planned elective surgeries and temporarily closing dozens of beds. The union struck an interim pay deal after the rally, agreeing to a three per cent pay increase during an intensive four weeks of negotiations. A NSW government spokesman said an in-principle agreement had been reached for every non-wage claim from the union, including roster improvements.
"We worked through a range of options to fund and deliver a new wage offer and we have asked the Industrial Relations Commission to progress the matter to arbitration," he said. In a separate threat to services, rail staff signalled plans to stop work from Thursday unless the government agreed to run metropolitan and intercity trains 24 hours a day from Thursdays until Sundays. The move is the latest in a series of threatened actions against the government over stalled pay negotiations for train staff.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW secretary Toby Warnes said the government had been dragging its heels in negotiations since an enterprise agreement expired six months earlier. "It's unacceptable that we have gotten to this point," he said. "Our members' pay has effectively gone backwards while government and management twiddle their thumbs and constantly delay progress.
" The union is seeking a 32 per cent pay rise over four years and a 35-hour working week. Transport for NSW said it would work through contingency plans for the strike but did not say whether the agency had agreed to the 24-hour timetable. "As contingency plans are developed, we will provide further information for passengers about any necessary changes to timetables prior to the action commencing next Wednesday," a spokesman said.
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