“We’re not going to take second best … our people who hold the (health) system together are not going to be treated as second-class citizens.”

Members across major hospitals in NSW took action in May and June, walking off the job for an hour and putting in place work bans in a bid to spur the state government into action to deliver on their pre-election promises.

One such work ban included members refusing to collect dirty laundry in certain hospitals during this action. As the days ticked by, the laundry continued to pile, bringing the action and fight of members to the forefront. Members voted for a new government to not only bring change but to fulfil their promises and keep their word on scrapping the wages cap for the public sector.

“The message is very clear – our members supported Labor. They supported a vision for the future. But at the moment they’re not seeing anything and it’s looking like the status quo – we’re not about the ‘hurry up and wait’,” HSU Secretary Gerard Hayes told The Daily Telegraph in May.

“At the moment we’re a month and a bit down the track (since Labor was elected) and I can’t tell (union members) where we’re going to,” he said.

Members are beyond breaking point and cannot afford to wait for the government to take their time. Building a new health system, paying health workers what they deserve and making action towards change cannot wait.