Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association's Wagga branch have voted 'yes' for a 24-hour statewide strike across the public health sector, which is due to be held on March 31.
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The latest strike comes after the union said the government failed to take action following the first 24-hour statewide action held on February 15.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Wagga Branch president Amit Gupta said the government still hasn't addressed critical staff shortages across the sector, staffing ratios and fair wages.
The implementation of staffing ratios would see one nurse per four patients to help relieve the heavy workloads, the union said.
Of the 600 association members in Wagga, 98.2 per cent voted 'yes' for the strike, with the Wagga branch being among the first in the state to have already voted.
Other branches across the state will vote throughout the week, but Mr Gupta said there was no question that the strike will go ahead.
"It will still go ahead even if it's 49-50," he said.
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Nurses and midwives who join in on the strike will walk off the job, taking to the streets for a second time to demand the same action be taken by the government that was called for during the last strike.
"Following the first 24-hour statewide strike on February 15, the association board had a meeting with the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, but he didn't have anything to offer us, so we are aiming for a bigger impact this time," Mr Gupta said.
To put it into perspective, Mr Gupta said in Wagga alone there were eight to 10 staff shortages every shift.
"Staff are fatigued, they can't concentrate and it's affecting their health and wellbeing," he said.
Mr Gupta said obviously COVID-19 has also played a huge factor in worsening what were already hard circumstances.
Another issue association members want to see addressed is their pay rise.
The workforce took a 0.3 per cent pay rise in 2020 and a two per cent pay increase last year in line with the state wage cap of 2.5 per cent, including superannuation.
However, the consumer price index which determines the average pay rise rate was 3.5 per cent in 2021 and underlying inflation was 2.6 per cent which members said is not good enough.
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District's chief executive, Jill Ludford, said all of regional NSW was experiencing unprecedented shortages in the nursing workforce and the MLHD was no exception.
"MLHD has established a critical vacancy taskforce who are working on a range of strategies to boost available workforce, including relocation assistance and interim accommodation for new staff, as well as short-term contracts for staff who would like to 'come and try' working in the region," Ms Ludford said.
"The mental health of our staff is a priority and we have a range of strategies to check in with each staff member on their wellbeing and workload, including roving chaplains, change of shift team safety huddles, one to one conversations with managers, workload committees and work health and safety supports."
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