Nurses at the Royal Prince Alfred, a major inner-city Sydney hospital, stopped work to attend a rally on June 24. The nurses are protesting a threat by the Central Sydney Health Service to cut up to 200 jobs because of a $4 million to $7 million budget deficit.
A NSW Nurses Association spokesman blamed a recent unsatisfactory level of federal funding. Nurses say that staff cuts previously imposed by the Carr state Labor government have already undermined their ability to deliver adequate health services.