Court case over pay for nurses, midwives gets underway

A six-week hearing over pay and conditions for nurses and midwives across NSW commenced in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission yesterday (Tuesday, 30 September).

Yesterday, the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association’s (NSWNMA) proceedings in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to improve public sector nurses and midwives’ pay and conditions got underway, with a six-week hearing commencing.

In early September, NSWNMA members voted to accept the NSW government’s offer of a 3 per cent interim wage increase and enhancements to working conditions. The agreement, the government noted, provides an interim 3 per cent pay increase for public sector nurses and midwives, paid retrospectively from 1 July 2025, plus 0.5 per cent in superannuation. Nurses and midwives would also see an increase to their night shift penalty rate from 15 to 20 per cent, effective from 1 July 2025, with this issue no longer part of future arbitration proceedings.

At the time, Minister for Health Ryan Park said the vote was a “major step to addressing the chronic shortage of nurses in our hospitals, but there is more to do”.

NSWNMA general secretary Shaye Candish made similar remarks, noting that the interim offer would put money in members’ pockets now.

“Members have democratically voted to accept this interim offer, knowing that there is a long way to go before the pay dispute is settled. Nurses and midwives are struggling to pay their bills in this cost-of-living crisis, so any financial relief is welcomed. Improvements to rosters will also provide staff with greater work/life balance. However, this is not the end of our pay and conditions fight,” she said.

Now, and after rejecting the state government’s offer of 9 per cent over three years, the NSWNMA is fighting for a 35 per cent pay increase over three years, which it said is to address the needs of the workforce and the healthcare system.

NSWNMA’s evidence, it said in a statement, will cover what it calls the gendered undervaluation of nurses and midwives’ work, the work value increase over the past 16 years, and the impacts of productivity and inflation.

The six-week hearing will run until 7 November, with three days reserved for final submissions in December.

Candish said the union had thrown everything at the case, after being unable to resolve its pay dispute at the negotiation table.

“It’s disappointing we weren’t able to settle our pay claim out of the courts, after almost two years of campaigning for a decent pay offer for our members,” she said.

“We are putting the best possible case forward to deliver public sector nurses and midwives across NSW the recognition, pay, and conditions they rightly deserve.

“Nurses and midwives are highly skilled clinicians, and a wage increase that acknowledges their incredible contribution to keeping communities well is long overdue.

“In order to boost recruitment and retention and reduce workforce shortages, nurses and midwives must receive a competitive wage that addresses the wage stagnation our members have experienced under the previous Coalition government’s wages policy.”

NSWNMA assistant general secretary Michael Whaites added that after failing to reach a suitable agreement with the state government on improved pay and conditions, it was a case the union was eager to finally see come to fruition.

“The association’s legal team has compiled more than 17,400 pages of evidence, including statements from a dozen experts and academics and almost 40 witness statements from nurses and midwives,” he said.

“Our evidence sets out work value changes that nurses and midwives have experienced over the last 16 years, including the challenges and complexities of their clinical work. We also have expert evidence that demonstrates the current and historic gender-based undervaluation of nursing and midwifery, including the worsening gender pay gap in the public sector, which is at a decade-high.

“We won’t fix the issues in the public health system until we value and respect our nurses and midwives. The government’s offer fails to meet this simple test.

“It’s time nurses and midwives were appropriately remunerated and recognised for the critical and undeniable role they play in the public health system.”