Shoalhaven nurses say they will join a statewide 24 hour strike on Thursday to draw attention to the staffing crisis which has left managers scrambling to fill shifts every day.
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More than 160 branches of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) voted to strike - the second in six weeks - with members planning to hold public rallies on Thursday, March 31.
Secretary of the NSWNMA Shoalhaven Hospital branch, Michael Clarke, said local nurses have been pushed to the brink after demands to fix staff shortages have gone unheard.
"Our members are being asked four to eight times a day through text messages to fill gaps in the roster. It's unsustainable," Mr Clarke said, speaking on behalf of the union.
"There's been no negotiation on pay rise ... there's been no been no change in the government introducing staff to patient ratios.
"They can longer work with the system the way it is."
They're exhausted, they're tired, and they can't be pushed anymore.
- Michael Clarke, NSWNMA Shoalhaven branch secretary
Mr Clarke said life-preserving staff levels will be maintained at Shoalhaven Hospital and Milton Ulladulla Hospital on Thursday.
A rally was held at Shoalhaven Hospital on February 15 - however Mr Clarke confirmed there won't be a local gathering this time.
Instead some members will choose to attend the Wollongong Hospital rally this Thursday.
Despite directions on Friday from the state's Industrial Relations Commission that nurses must call the action off, the union said the strike will go ahead.
The union was also ordered to issue a public statement retracting its direction to strike and publish on its social media pages a direction that members must comply with the IRC orders.
NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes, said nurses and midwives were deeply distressed by the government's refusal to acknowledge the public health system crisis.
He said there had been an increasing number of staffing emergencies at NSW hospitals.
"We've had ongoing reports of nurses and midwives working double shifts and increased amounts of overtime, gaps in staffing rosters going unfilled for weeks, vacant positions being left unfilled for months, as well as daily text messages begging staff to pick up extra shifts," he said.
"Our members are scathing of the government's unwillingness to continue an open dialogue with us about their claim for shift by shift nurse-to-patient ratios, improved maternity staffing and a modest pay rise."
The NSWNMA said it has had no offer from the government since meeting with the NSW Premier on February 21, following a mass walk out on February 15.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
