At least the blood on our hands washes off.
So read one sign at the New South Wales nurses and midwives strike yesterday.
Our nurses and midwives have been pushing themselves beyond the limit from the start of the pandemic and haven’t seen a single pay rise.
While the Australian health system has crumbled, so have working conditions for the workers in our hospitals.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association have called for high patient-to-staff ratios to align with those already implemented in Victoria and Queensland.
They have also demanded a 2.5 per cent pay rise.
Clapping from balconies and hollow thank you speeches from our political leaders have missed the point.
The protest signs, however, did not. We’ve rounded up some of the best from the massive Sydney strike.
The best Health Minister Brad Hazzard was able to offer nurses and midwives was that he was “disappointed” and the strike was “unfortunate”.
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) general secretary Brett Holmes had said after negotiations on Monday that Health Minister Brad Hazzard failed to give nurses, “any real concrete hope that they will see a change in the position of government.”
NSWNMA assistant secretary Shaye Candish said that the Perrottet government’s “refusal to listen” had put workers in an “impossible situation”.
And what better way to criticise a Liberal politician than with words from a former Labor leader?
It appears the political quip game is strong among frontline workers.
As deliciously spicy as these signs are, at the end of the day these workers still face an uncaring and obstinate government.
The strike took place thanks to the combined power of workers coming together though their union.
If you want to see the same kind of passion and make positive change happen at your workplace, join your union.
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Nurses Deserve A Pay Rise Just For These Seriously Spicy Protest Signs