ABC, August 1, 2011 The New South Wales Health Department is advertising to fill nursing vacancies at the Port Macquarie Base Hospital. The Mid-North Coast Local Health District is looking to fill four-and-a-half full-time equivalent positions and say those positions will be filled in the coming months. Joanne McKeough, a mid-north coast organiser with the NSW Nurses Association says that number is a good start. However, she says, the commitment needs to be matched with a rigorous recruitment process. ... Search

Cobar Age, July 27, 2011 Nurses at Cobar District Hospital will hold a community protest rally on Friday August 5 about proposed cuts to nursing hours. The cry “Be ready; Be prepared; Be safe: Safe patient care is Cobar’s bottom line” is planned to feature in the rally. The rally, planned to take place in Marshall Street between 12 PM and 2 PM, is organised by members of the NSW Nurses’ Association (NSWNA) and will strongly resist proposed cuts to nursing hours on the day and evening shifts at the hospital. ... Nurses

ABC, July 26, 2011 About 100 private hospital nurses have marched on Sydney's Martin Place this morning to demand a pay rise. More are expected to walk off the job today as part of a 24-hour strike at five Sydney hospitals run by Macquarie Hospital Services. The affected hospitals are located around Sydney, at Rooty Hill, Kirrawee, Dee Why, Manly and Randwick. Brett Holmes from the New South Wales Nurses' Association says the strike comes after 18 months of failed pay negotiations. ... Private

ABC, July 25, 2011 Pressure will be put on the New South Wales Government to improve security at hospitals on the north and mid-north coasts to protect the safety of nurses and patients. The demand has come from the NSW Nurses Association. The association says there are concerns that too many nurses are being attacked at night because of poor security measures. General secretary Brett Holmes says hospitals, particularly those in regional areas, must increase medical and security staff levels to stop any acts of violence. ... Union

AAP, July 25, 2011 Nurses at private hospitals across Sydney will strike for 24 hours from Tuesday morning over a pay dispute. The industrial action will affect Macquarie Hospital Services, as nurses protest at Martin Place in Sydney's city centre from 8 AM (AEST) before demonstrating at the group's other hospitals. NSW Nurses Association general secretary Brett Holmes said nurses at the operator's five hospitals were fed up with having their pay rates curtailed by the company's owner, Dr Tom Wenkart. ... Sydney

Port Macquarie News, July 25, 2011 Unions members will make their voices heard in Port Macquarie today when Premier Barry O'Farrell brings his cabinet to town. Nurses, firefighters, teachers and other public sector workers will rally outside Port Macquarie Panthers to voice their anger at the NSW government’s plan to cut arbitration rights and fix pay increases for public sector employees. The rally is planned for 11 AM, immediately before NSW government community cabinet meets at the venue. ... Unions

Northern Star, July 23, 2011 Nurses have given NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner a cold reception at their 66th annual conference in Sydney this week. NSW Nurses Association North Coast organiser Jo-Anne McKeough said nurses were angry at changes to the Industrial Relations Commission and their workplace rights. “She says she is nurse friendly yet she has taken away our ability to have a fair hearing in the commission,” she said. “Every time Ms Skinner was questioned about it she simply said she disagreed but gave no supporting evidence or substantiating evidence.” ... Skinner

ABC, July 22, 2011 Far western New South Wales Nurses' Union delegates say they will soon be enforcing safe patient quotas in local hospitals or they will start to close beds. Three local nurses are participating in lectures and workshops at the union's annual conference in Sydney. The theme for the conference is organising safe patient care, with participants workshopping how to secure higher nurse to patient ratios. The local branch secretary, Bonnie Tavian, says now that the ratios have been secured, they need to be enforced. ... Fight

Danny Garcia, New South Wales Nurses' Union, July 22, 2011 The annual conference of New South Wales Nurses' Union will be held in Sydney. Three nurses from the union will participate in the lectures and workshops at the conference. The theme for the conference is organizing safe patient care. The conference will also include a workshop for participants on how to secure higher nurse to patient ratios. The nurses union has said that say they will soon be enforcing safe patient quotas in local hospitals or they will start to close beds. The local Branch Secretary, Bonnie Tavian, said that they have already secured the nurse-patient rate. It’s just required to be implemented. ... Nurses

ABC, July 21, 2011 The New South Wales Nurses Association says the Far West Local Health District has admitted local nurses have been underpaid. Nurses have taken their complaints to the association's annual conference this week, arguing they are owed thousands of dollars in back pay. Nurse union delegate Linda Griffiths says under the mistake, shift nurses entitled to penalty rates could have lost as much as $300 a fortnight while on holidays, for the past six years. She says the pay discrepancy was not intentional but it does affect 165 people. ... Nurses

ABC, July 20, 2011 Broken Hill nurses say they are owed thousands of dollars in back pay and are being ignored by hospital management. The Broken Hill branch of the New South Wales Nurses Association says proper leave loading has not been paid to nurses at the hospital for more than six years. President Leanne Barber says the issue will be raised at the association conference this week. Ms Barber says she is still waiting to hear back from hospital management. ... Nurses

Lauren Farrow, AAP, July 14, 2011 More than 500 nurses and public servants have taken to the streets in regional NSW, as part of rolling stoppages across the state. Public servants in Orange and Gosford stopped work on Thursday to protest against Premier Barry O'Farrell's contentious changes to workplace laws. The legislation, which passed in June, caps annual public worker wage increases at 2.5 per cent and links further rises with productivity. In Orange, skeleton staff remained at the local hospital and nurses rallied from 11 AM (AEST) until 1 PM. ... NSW

ABC, July 12, 2011 Nurses at western Sydney's Nepean Hospital will stop work today to protest against the New South Wales Government's cap on public sector pay rises. Legislation for the policy passed last month, to cap wage increases at 2.5 per cent unless equivalent budget savings are achieved first. The bill also reduced the powers of the state's Industrial Relations Commission. The NSW Nurses' Association says its members at the hospital will stop work for an hour today. ... Nepean

AAP, July 11, 2011 Nurses in western Sydney have voted to stop work in protest against the NSW government's controversial public sector wages laws. NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA) members at Nepean Hospital voted on Monday to stop work, and will protest at a rally in Penrith against Premier Barry O'Farrell's controversial changes to workplace laws. The protest, which will take place tomorrow, is in reaction to legislation passed in June that caps annual public worker wage increases at 2.5 per cent. ... NSW

Kate Sikora, Daily Telegraph, June 15, 2011 Even the rain couldn't put a dampner on the rally outside Parliament House today, with unions claiming about 12,000 public servants turned out. The protest blocked Macquarie Street, shutting down parts of the CBD and causing traffic delays. For more than an hour, teachers, nurses, police and thousands of government employees rallied on the street, protesting against the Government’s new laws that cap pay rises at 2.5 per cent. ... Police