NSW Nurses Are Going on Strike After Feeling Ignored

Happy Friday y’all! Are you excited to escape the workweek grindset and instead suffer two days of extreme Netflix choice paralysis? Yeah, me too. But before we can all get to that, here are today’s biggest headlines:

NSW Nurses Are Going on Strike

It’s the year of the strike, especially in NSW, and the state’s nurses are getting back in on the action. “Our members are angry, and they’re fed up with being ignored,” outlined the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association’s (NSWNMA) General Secretary, Shaye Candish. “We indicated to the NSW government earlier this year that we needed an open and meaningful dialogue with them about safe staffing.”

She also noted, “We still don’t have mandated nurse-to-patient ratios in our public hospitals or health facilities and this is putting patients at risk. The NSW government is ignoring what’s desperately needed to ensure patients are getting the best possible care in their local hospitals.”

Candish isn’t the only member of the NSWNMA that feels this way. The organisation’s Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, has stated, “What our members are asking for is not unreasonable. They are simply asking for staffing ratios, a safer workplace, and fair pay.”

This strike is happening next Thursday for 24 hours. It’ll also not impact any life-preserving services.

It’s Wear It Purple Day and International Dog Day

If you have a Cadbury-coloured scarf or a Willy Wonka vest, then it’s time to whip them out. This is because it’s Wear It Purple Day. This event is about standing up to the bullying and harassment that LGBTQIA+ young people face in their day-to-day lives. You can demonstrate your solidarity with this cause by wearing purple today and donating here.

It’s also International Dog Day, so let’s go through some fun doggo facts. According to a survey conducted by the pet food company Scratch, a lot of Aussie dogs are allowed to sleep in the same room as their owners. This company surveyed over 12,000 puppa owners and discovered that 65 percent of them allow their dogs to do this. Moreover, Scratch asserted that three-quarters of their respondents believe that all doggos should be allowed on planes.

The Labor Government VS the Gig Economy

The Federal Government is going to try and reform the Ubers and Deliveroos of our country. In a speech obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald, our Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Burke, will be giving a brutal critique of Australia’s gig economy today. He’ll be telling a whack of Transport Workers Union members in Sydney, “Gig work drives down wages and it has been spreading like a cancer through the economy.”

Additionally, Burke will also begin a series of meetings with Uber, Deliveroo, DoorDash, and Menulog today. He’s getting their thoughts on how the Fair Work Commission should give their gig economy more rights. Currently, such workers don’t get a minimum wage, worker’s comp, paid leave, or super that’s provided by their boss.

Anh Do’s Book Was Banned, and He Didn’t Know

Ah, America. The land where freedom of speech is everything. Well, unless you’re a thoughtful book in a public school, then your head might be on the chopping block. As per The Australian, this is exactly what happened to Anh Do’s WeirDO series of children’s books, which were all banned in Pennsylvania in late 2020. Fortunately, though, this ban was lifted in January 2022, after some students ran an effective protest campaign.

But interestingly enough, Do wasn’t aware of this situation until recently. Neither was his publisher Scholastic Australia.