An open letter to the teachers, nurses and midwives, transport workers, and unions taking industrial action this week:
As the Greens MPs in NSW Parliament, we are writing to express our unwavering support and solidarity for the industrial actions you are taking this week.
While we know that thanks is not enough, we do want to say thank you for your tireless work. But that’s not all we want to do. We also want to commit to your demands for an increase in pay, better conditions and more resources.
We firmly believe that teachers, nurses and midwives, transport workers, and all public sector workers deserve fair wages and vastly improved conditions. That means addressing staffing shortages, fixing safety concerns and adequately resourcing those working in our schools, hospitals, public services and on our public transport systems.
The 3% wage rise announced by the NSW Coalition government recently does not come close to covering the rises in the cost of living and inflation, nor will it fix the decades of underfunding of our schools and hospitals, or the safety issues in our transport network.
The Greens stand firm in our support of your demands. We reject the unfair wage freeze. We support mandated staff to patient ratios in hospitals. We recognise the need to fix chronic staff shortages in schools, for urgent intervention to alleviate unreasonable workloads, and for genuine investment to address long-standing safety issues.
We know that improved conditions and wages aren’t won easily. And we respect that you taking this action is the most powerful way we can stand together to collectively advance our rights. The Greens will always support your right to strike, and we stand in fierce opposition to the NSW Liberal/National Government’s recent announcement to impose heavy fines on unions for taking strike action.
Thank you for taking action. We will continue to support you in Parliament, on the streets, and in your workplaces.
Yours sincerely,
Jenny Leong, Greens NSW Industrial Relations Spokesperson
Sue Higginson, Greens NSW Employment Spokesperson
Abigail Boyd, Greens NSW Transport Spokesperson
Cate Faehrmann, Greens NSW Health Spokesperson
Jamie Parker, Greens NSW Democracy Spokesperson
Tamara Smith, Greens NSW Education Spokesperson
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