Midwives, nursing students should be paid for placement work, say Greens
Greens candidate for Wollongong Cath Blakey said the unpaid placements created a barrier to attracting people to these jobs.
"The Greens want to make sure that students on these placements are paid the same wage as a junior assistant in Nursing," Ms Blakey said.
"With the heightened cost of living, it's crazy to expect people to fund their own placement."
Story by Glen Humphries at the Illawarra Mercury, 15 March 2023.
Nurse to Patient ratios essential for better patient care
Greens councillor and candidate for Wollongong Cath Blakey has reiterated that Nurse to Patient ratios is a key demand of her party in any minority government after March 25. This comes as the Nurses and Midwives Association lodge evidence in the supreme court showing that the NSW government’s current staffing model is resulting in understaffing and poor patient care.
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"The Greens are fully backing the union's award claim, as well as campaigning for a 15 per cent pay rise for nurses to make the job more attractive for current and future staff."
"Voters should consider where they direct their preferences in the upper and lower house to give the Greens more power to negotiate."
Cr Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong in the 2023 NSW state election.
Story by Kate Ilwain in the Illawarra Mercury, 9 March 2023.