newy.com.au – Hunter nurses stopped work and rallied at The Junction on Wednesday 4 November, escalating their dispute with private hospital operator Healthe Care over enforceable staffing ratios and pay.
Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association at Maitland Private Hospital held a four hour stoppage, while members at Newcastle’s Lingard Private Hospital stopped work for three hours. Nurses gathered at Rowlands Park on Glebe Road for the rally.
The association said it was the third major stop work action by nurses and midwives at Healthe Care sites across NSW, as part of their protected industrial action campaign.
The stoppages came after Healthe Care revised its pay offer. According to the association, the operator had increased its proposed pay rise for 2026 from 2.4 per cent to 3.5 per cent. The union argued the revised offer remained below inflation and did not address the cost of living pressures facing nurses and midwives.
Staffing remained another central point of dispute. The association said Healthe Care had refused to commit to nurse-to-patient ratios. It wanted enforceable requirements setting how many patients each nurse could be assigned, alongside a pay offer that addressed members’ rising living costs.
NSW Nurses and Midvies’ posted “we deserve RESPECT, RATIOS AND FAIR PAY from Australia’s second largest private hospital operator”.
Before the action, the association said it had given Healthe Care notice of the stoppages and would work with the operator to maintain safe patient care throughout.
Join the discussion on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19LRLDS2MV/
