Reflections on the NSW public hospital doctors’ strike in Australia
TL/DR –
Public hospital doctors in New South Wales, Australia, went on a three-day strike to protest against their pay and working conditions. The doctors are asking for a 30% pay rise to avoid being the lowest paid public hospital doctors in the country, a demand the NSW government has deemed untenable. The strike also highlighted the poor working conditions faced by the doctors, such as exhaustion and long shifts without breaks.
Doctors strike in New South Wales, Australia over Pay and Conditions
Doctors in Australia’s most expensive state, New South Wales, went on a three-day strike to protest against working conditions and pay rates. The strike elicited mixed reactions from the public, some branding the doctors as greedy and administrators referring to them as “clinical marshmellows” [sic].
Concerns around job security following the strike, coupled with the guilt over not being able to provide patient care, added to the doctors’ stress. The strike has highlighted the overstretched conditions in public hospitals, not only in Australia, but globally, including the UK, South Korea, and New Zealand.
The striking doctors are demanding a 30% pay rise to avoid becoming the lowest paid public hospital doctors in the country, which the NSW government finds untenable. However, the government’s criticism of doctors for risking lives opened a Pandora’s box of revelations about the realities of being a public hospital doctor, including harsh working conditions and lack of break times.
Impact of the Doctors’ Strike
The strike is about both pay and working conditions. However, if only better conditions were offered, hospitals would struggle due to the high demands of administrative work and unpaid overtime. The journey to qualify as a doctor involves up to eight years of university, compared to the much shorter process to become a police constable. Yet, the starting salary for a constable is higher than that of an intern doctor in NSW.
While both professions serve the public, the disparity illustrates the power of different unions in securing pay rises. The strike action taken by doctors, a first in over 25 years, highlights the lack of appreciation for the altruism of doctors, which is causing a talent drain in the public hospital system.
By condemning public hospital doctors for wanting improved pay and better conditions, the government’s handling of the situation might prove to be an own goal in the long run.
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