NSW hospitals offer junior doctors over $2000 a day during strike for better pay and conditions

In a significant development in the healthcare sector, junior doctors represented by the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) in New South Wales commenced a three-day strike on Tuesday, demanding improved pay and working conditions. Approximately 3,500 doctors walked off their jobs, resulting in the cancellation of numerous elective surgeries and the closure of emergency beds in hospitals across the state. The crisis has emerged as junior doctors are advocating for a 30% pay raise to align their earnings with their counterparts in other states. Currently, they earn as little as $76,000 annually or $38 an hour, a figure that the NSW Health Minister Ryan Park acknowledged was not reflective of their skills and education. The government has proposed a 10.5% pay increase over three years, which the union has rejected, calling it inadequate. A junior doctor, Grace LeMarquand, highlighted the chronic understaffing and unsafe working conditions by sharing her experience of routinely working 13-hour shifts. Another doctor, Sean Smith, expressed intentions to move to Queensland unless better pay and conditions were provided, insisting their demands are for pay equity rather than just an increase in wages. ASMOF’s executive director Andrew Holland emphasized that the organization will not accept attempts to ‘divide and conquer’ its membership and insisted on fair and safe working conditions throughout a doctor’s career. The strike has already led to significant disruptions, with Park announcing the cancellation of around 370 elective surgeries and the closure of 21 hospital beds. Locum recruitment efforts are underway, with some hospitals offering significant hourly rates to fill the gaps left by striking staff. The current industrial action is dire and represents broader systemic issues within the healthcare sector, drawing attention to the need for sustainable working conditions and adequate staffing to ensure patient safety. Without addressing these fundamental flaws, the care provided to patients is compromised, raising urgent considerations about the implications for public health.