The wages cap is an attack on nurses’ and midwives’ living standards

The Perrottet government’s wages caps have so far cost NSW nurses and midwives $80,000 each.

The NSW Government’s wage cap is a disaster for everybody, but especially for women says NSWNMA general secretary, Shaye Candish.

“NSW is the second worst paid state in Australia because of this policy, making it near impossible to attract and retain staff in such a tight labour market,” Shaye explains.

“It’s clearly a bad policy for nurses and midwives, but it also has dire implications for regional economies and communities and the health sector overall.”

A report by the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute into the impact of the wage caps since their introduction in 2012, shows public sector nurses and midwives will suffer a cumulative loss of $120,000 in pay by 2023–24.

“By the 2021–22 financial year, wages for an experienced nurse/ midwife working full-time were $335 lower per week – or about $17,500 for the year – as a result of these pay caps in place since 2012,” it says.

“On a cumulative basis, this wage suppression amounts to a combined loss of $80,000 in wages since the wage caps were first imposed.”

The impact of the wage caps has become especially acute with the steep rise in inflation, the report says.

“Real wages for nurses and midwives have already fallen over 3 per cent in the last two years, reducing their real purchasing power by $3000 per year, per employee.”

The Australia Institute report says the pay caps have contributed to falling real wages and made it more difficult to attract workers to vital service roles like health care. n

2.19% in the 10 years since the pay caps were imposed, pay has grown at an annual rate of 2.19 per cent across all classifications

4% in contrast, in the 20 years before the cap was imposed, average wages grew at almost 4 per cent per year.

On a cumulative basis, this wage suppression amounts to a combined loss of $80,000 in wages since the pay caps were first imposed.

If the pay caps are retained those losses will accumulate further over the next two financial years: to $390 per week in lost wages and a cumulative loss of $120,000 per nurse by 2023-24.