<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nurses and midwives in </span><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales" rel="" target="" title="New South Wales"><span>New South Wales</span></a><span> have been awarded a major "one-off" pay deal by the Industrial Relations Commission, which found the overwhelmingly female workforce had been undervalued due to gender reasons.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The deal sees a 16 per cent raise for registered nurses and midwives, an 18 per cent raise for enrolled nurses and a 28 per cent raise for assistants in nursing and midwifery over three years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The commission, in a summary of its reasons, said "historically, the work value of feminised industries such as nursing has been undervalued".</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nuclear-arms-race-defence-minister-richard-marles-ominous-warning/5345ee72-f604-4a35-a890-5f1cfd31a57c" rel="" target="" title="'We may be at the foothills of a new nuclear arms race'"><strong><span>'We may be at the foothills of a new nuclear arms race'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The reasons are multifaceted, but a key reason is that they involve the exercise of caring or interpersonal skills that women were considered to have a natural capacity to perform which led to those skills not being expressly recognised, considered and valued," it said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It also found wages had not kept up with inflation and the cost of living in recent years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it found any increase in pay would need to be "debt-funded" by the NSW government.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/nurses-midwives-pay-deal-nsw-by-industrial-relations-commission-new-south-wales-news/0f678feb-cb28-4f3c-8d33-e394e8733de9" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For every one per cent increase in pay, the NSW government needs to fund an additional $74.5 million per year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These additional costs reduce the NSW government's capacity to do other things, including fund infrastructure and provide services."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It said those factors were relevant to the outcome but "not barriers to appropriate increases".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) went to the commission with the NSW government last year after pay negotiations stalled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-april-16-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/b87380ba-5f3b-470d-bdca-a98c869f95af"><strong><span>Albanese picks a side in the Trump-Pope dispute</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>General Secretary Michael Whaites said the decision was "historic" but didn't go far enough.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Today's announcement gives a record-breaking pay deal for nurses and midwives in New South Wales. Yet for registered nurses and midwives it is not enough to fix the structural reform that we need in this state," Whaites said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Registered nurses and midwives are the backbone of this workforce.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are the majority of this workforce, and we had hoped for a better outcome for them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing and midwifery, this is a great outcome.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It recognises the undervaluation of the work that they do and gives them the recognition they rightly deserve."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he said the decision had weighed the value of nurses and midwives against the state of the NSW economy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Throughout our campaign, we had politician after politician saying that they know nurses and midwives are worth more, we just can't afford it and yet, here again today we hear that registered nurses and midwives should be paid more, but we just can't afford it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is an outcome that says that women's work has to remain undervalued because of the economy – that's an appalling position for us to be in in 2026.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We will continue to campaign for our registered nurses and midwives to make sure they're valued for the work they do."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Minns government said it welcomed the decision.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Nurses and midwives are the beating heart of our health workforce and while we acknowledge this was a hard-fought dispute, we believe it is a fair outcome," Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=9news.com.au" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>