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 Nurses and midwives across New South Wales (NSW) defied a last
minute order by the state's industrial relations commission to call
off the strike, which it said could put public health in danger.
Nurses gathered in front of the state parliament building in Sydney,
holding placards saying "Fatigued, exhausted, worn out and burnt
out", "Need more nurses now" and "Stop telling us to cope."
Nurses had sought a pay rise of more than 2.5% and better
nurse-to-patient ratios. The strike will be staggered through the
day and will include staff from more than 150 hospitals around the
state.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it was "unfortunate" and
"disappointing" that nurses persisted with the strike. Hazzard told
radio station 2GB the government was working on a solution but said
some suggested changes to nurse-patient ratios could cost "a billion
dollars".
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 The arrival of the fast-moving Omicron variant
in Australia in late November fuelled a surge in
COVID-19 infections - accounting for the bulk of
the country's total of around 2.6 million
confirmed cases - and overwhelmed hospitals.
New case numbers have been trending lower in
recent days. Just over 23,000 new cases were
reported by midday on Tuesday, while hospital
cases dipped to about 3,000 from a peak of 5,400
three weeks ago.
Officials registered 46 new deaths, with the
pandemic total standing at 4,664.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; editing by Jane
Wardell)
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