HSU members across NSW Health have been struggling under outdated and unfit for purpose awards for years – but now, we’re finally moving ahead with negotiating new ones that reflect the tough job HSU members do every day.

For more than a decade NSW health workers’ pay and conditions have lagged behind colleagues doing the same jobs in other states and sectors – mostly due to the NSW government’s outdated wage cap, which prevented negotiating changes to the health awards.

Wages that don’t keep up with rising inflation and cost of living have left NSW health workers overworked, underpaid and burnt out - meaning there’s thousands of unfilled jobs across NSW Health as workers move to other states, the private sector or other industries.

These awards are restrictive, they don’t reflect the jobs HSU members do and they’re triggering a mass exodus of skilled staff – now’s the time to change that.

In September, HSU delegates met with the NSW government to get the process of award reform finally moving, with the Ministry of Health officially agreeing to commence award negotiations and scrap the NSW Public Service Wages Cap.

Now’s the time to get it right!