Nurse Campaign Continues to Grow

Date: 28 August 2001

New South Wales Nurses Association (NSWNA) members continue to establish campaign committees at public hospitals and other public health facilities around the State as part of the NSWNA's What's a Nurse Worth? campaign.

By Monday 27 August the following 39 NSWNA branches, involving more than 12,000 nurses, had established committees:

Auburn Hospital
Ballina Hospital
Bankstown Community Health
Barraba Hospital
Blacktown Hospital
Byron District Hospital
Casino Hospital
Concord Hospital
Fairfield Hospital
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital
Illawarra Mental Health
John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle
Kyogle Hospital
Langton Centre
Lismore Base Hospital
Lismore Mental Health
Liverpool Hospital
Lourdes Hospital, Dubbo
Lower Hunter Community Health
Manly Hospital
Mona Vale Hospital
Mullumbimby Hospital
Murwillumbah Hospital
Narrabri
Nepean Hospital
Newcastle Mental Health
Newcastle Mater Hospital
Port Stephens Health Service
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Shellharbour Hospital
St George Hospital
St Vincent's Hospital
Tamworth Base Hospital
Tweed Heads Hospital
Wagga Wagga Hospital
Wallsend Aged Care Facility
Westmead Children's Hospital
Westmead Hospital
Wollongong Hospital

Each local campaign committee is responsible for:
· conducting a strong awareness campaign in its community;
· developing and implementing a local industrial action plan that includes such things as work bans, rallies and stop work meetings; and
· monitoring nurse staffing levels in its facility and identifying vacancy levels - if inadequate staffing and nursing vacancies are putting patient safety at risk then beds will be closed.

Work bans have already started in many of the above facilities and stop work meetings and rallies will be held in the coming weeks. Stop work meetings have already been held at a number of Sydney and regional hospitals.

The What's a Nurse Worth? campaign was launched in July at the NSWNA annual conference, with the objective of solving the NSW nurse shortage through better wages and conditions for nurses. Nurses are angry that the State Government has rejected a NSWNA request for an urgent NSW Industrial Relations Commission case aimed at improving nurse wages and conditions.

For further information

Contact:	Sandra Moait
Union:	Labor Council of NSW
Phone:	02-9550 3244
Contact Mobile:	0414-810 177
WWW:	http://www.nswnurses.asn.au

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