Nurses Advance Labor Campaigns Across Hospitals

Nurses and midwives at Healthe Care facilities in New South Wales have begun short work stoppages and are planning escalating industrial action, seeking enforceable staffing ratios and improved pay after negotiations stalled; the union says the company’s proposed increases fall below inflation, while workers say they do not want to fall behind public-sector colleagues. Separately, nearly 800 nurses at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital authorized a two-day strike after their contract expired, accusing management of bad-faith bargaining and raising concerns about staffing and benefits. Providence says wage talks are still at an early stage and that replacement nurses will allow operations to continue during the walkout. At Pioneers Memorial Hospital in California, registered nurses filed a petition seeking union representation, saying unresolved workplace concerns have left them without an adequate voice; the petition now awaits review by state labor authorities.