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Pandemic-weary Australian nurses go on strike

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Agence France-Presse

<p>SYDNEY, Australia - Thousands of nurses walked off the job in Australia&#x27;s largest city Sydney on Tuesday, protesting against staff shortages and pandemic-related stresses and strains.</p><p>Defying a strike ban, thousands decked in scrubs and surgical masks marched on the state parliament over what they say are intolerable conditions.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/12/22/thousands-protest-vaccine-mandates-in-australia">Thousands protest vaccine mandates in Australia</a></li></ul><p>Throngs of nurses cheered, clapped and chanted their anger at persistent shortages of hospital beds, equipment and the grinding toll of this protracted crisis.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1926626" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>They brandished placards that read &quot;Nurses are not coping&quot; and &quot;&#x27;Thank you&#x27; doesn&#x27;t pay the rent&quot; -- hitting out at political leaders who they accuse of ignoring their plight.</p><p>For two years, Australia&#x27;s medical staff have worked under strict Covid protocols, while trying to carry out day-to-day tasks and roll out an unprecedented vaccination program.</p><p>But recent months have seen an explosion of coronavirus cases -- bringing more patients and depleting the ranks as staff get sick or are forced to isolate.</p><p>&quot;The community needs to hear the truth -- current staffing levels are inadequate, unsafe and putting patients at risk,&quot; said the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives&#x27; Association.</p><p>In a statement, the New South Wales Health Department thanked nurses for working &quot;tirelessly during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.&quot;</p><p>But, it added, &quot;there are more nurses and midwives in New South Wales public hospitals than at any other time in history.&quot;</p><p>Arbitration had failed to head off the strike and the Industrial Relations Commission court had ordered that the industrial action not take place.</p><p>That order was rejected, and union organisers said further strike action is being considered.</p><p>Strict border closures and aggressive testing and tracing had meant Australia was Covid-free for much of the pandemic.</p><p>But the arrival of Omicron has resulted in tens of thousands of cases and dozens of deaths every day.</p><p>About 2.5 million cases have been recorded in the population of 25 million.</p><div><strong>arb/jfx</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1761900" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Thousands of nurses walked off the job in Australia's largest city Sydney on Tuesday, protesting against staff shortages and pandemic-related stress.