Thousands of nurses in Australia’s most populous state have gone on strike, protesting against stagnant pay and staffing shortages.
It comes despite an order by the state’s industrial relations commission to call off the strike.
It is the first industrial action taken by nurses in almost a decade.
The Omicron variant has led to a recent surge of cases, putting the country’s testing and hospital systems under further strain.
Cases in New South Wales (NSW) account for the bulk of Australia’s 2.5 million reported infections.
Thousands of nurses and other healthcare workers – some of whom were dressed in personal protective equipment and scrubs – marched along the streets of NSW’s most populous city, Sydney.
Their demands include mandated nurse-to-patient ratios and a pay rise of higher than 2.5%.
The strike proceeded despite an order on Monday afternoon by dispute resolution body the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to call it off.
Source: Fiilafmonline/BBC
