Stephanie McLean Pay Disparity and Burnout at Centre of Health System Crisis.
Thousands of doctors across 30 public hospitals in New South Wales have walked off the job in a three-day strike, demanding urgent action on pay and working conditions. The action comes after nine months of failed negotiations on pay and safe working conditions.
The industrial action, led by junior and frontline doctors, aims to secure a pay rise of up to 20 to 30 per cent-citing significant pay gaps with other states, including Queensland, where first-year doctors earn around $45 an hour compared to NSW’s $38, not including penalty rates or additional leave.
The strike highlights deepening unrest among healthcare workers, who report being overworked, undervalued, and ignored in an overstretched public health system.
Doctors are striking in response to:
- Chronic doctor shortages across NSW hospitals
- Unsafe hours, including widespread 16-hour back-to-back shifts
- Fatigue and burnout, leading to staff resignations
- Poor retention, with NSW doctors leaving for significantly better conditions interstate
- Lack of genuine negotiation, with the Government walking away from talks
ASMOF President Dr Nicholas Spooner “Doctors across this state are working 16-hour shifts, day after day, with little rest and no end in sight. They are exhausted, they are leaving, and they are not being replaced.
“This Government was elected to fix the health system, but instead, they’ve walked away from the negotiating table—and from the doctors keeping our hospitals running.
We’re not asking for the world. We’re asking for safe working hours, minimum 10-hour breaks between shifts, and enough staff so patients aren’t left waiting hours in Emergency.
Throughout the strike, emergency and critical care will remain safely staffed. Patient safety will not be compromised—this is no different to standard public holiday arrangements, like those over Easter.”
— Dr Nicholas Spooner, ASMOF President
Despite the disruption, emergency departments remain open, and hospitals are operating with skeleton staff to ensure critical care is maintained during the strike. Negotiations are ongoing, with Premier Chris Minns acknowledging that junior doctors have fallen significantly behind in wage growth. However, he noted that “12 years of wage suppression” could not be reversed in a single move.
Health Minister Ryan Park defended the Government’s offer, describing the proposed 10.5 per cent multi-year pay rise as fair.
“I share the community’s desire to see our healthcare workers paid more—that’s why we’ve put forward a 10.5 per cent increase over multiple years, on top of the 4.5 per cent already delivered,” Mr Park said in a statement. “We’ve engaged in ongoing discussions with unions for years to secure these improvements.”
Mr Park claimed the union had walked away from both negotiations and the independent Industrial Relations Commission, and argued the strike risked compromising patient safety—an assertion strongly rejected by the striking doctors.
As the first doctors’ strike in NSW in 25 years, all eyes are on how this unprecedented action will unfold—and whether it will lead to meaningful change.
What are your thoughts?
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