00:00The Fair Work Commission ruled that these strikes would pose two greater risks to public
00:07safety if they went ahead, citing the absence of adequate staffing levels at the Newcastle
00:12Private Hospital's birthing suite.
00:14That's just one of eight hospitals that would have been affected by this 26-hour walk-off
00:19where nurses would have provided life-preserving or life-saving care at these facilities, however,
00:25would have banned overtime and would have seen most of their staff not on.
00:29It would have almost certainly caused a delay to non-urgent medical care at these facilities
00:34as well.
00:35However, the Fair Work Commission believed there was two greater risks around staffing
00:39at that birthing suite.
00:41Because that birthing suite was no longer covered, it meant the entirety of the industrial
00:46action was no longer protected, i.e. it means it would now be illegal for nurses at other
00:51private health facilities administered by HealthScope to walk off the job.
00:56So why did nurses want a strike in the first place?
00:59Well, they've taken issue with their rate of pay.
01:01They want a 15% increase to match their counterparts at other HealthScope-administered hospitals
01:07around the country.
01:08They also want to see better staffing ratios, as is the case in the public health system,
01:15as well as better leave and penalty entitlements.
01:18Michael Thwaites from the Nurses' Union says staffing ratios are critical to quality patient
01:24care.
01:25We know that the staffing levels across many HealthScope facilities are below that of the
01:30public sector.
01:31And whilst we see the public sector moving towards nurse-to-patient ratios, HealthScope
01:36maintains that its current staffing levels are adequate.
01:40Our members say it doesn't meet the evidence-based best practice that we know should be implemented.
01:47In a statement, HealthScope confirmed that the strike action had been prohibited by the
01:51Fair Work Commission and called off by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.
01:57They said specifically their concerns were due to NSW NMA's refusal to provide assurances
02:03around safe staffing.
02:06That means the possibility of strikes down the track is still very much a live one, especially
02:11while this pay dispute remains unresolved.
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