‘Obscene’ Parking Fees Cause NSW Health Workers to Walk Off the Job

Residents queue up inside their cars for PCR tests at the St Vincent's Bondi Beach COVID-19 drive through testing clinic ahead of Christmas in Sydney, Australia on Dec. 22, 2021. (Mohammad Farooq/AFP via Getty Images)

Proposed fee increases—which amount to 127 percent at some hospitals—have prompted New South Wales (NSW) health workers to walk off the job today.

Staff at five NSW hospitals and 11 other facilities are taking action to protest an “obscene” increase imposed since the pandemic, potentially leaving them thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The Health Services Union (HSU) said about 1,000 members will walk off the job for two hours at midday, demanding a fairer deal.

The protests will occur at Westmead, Westmead Children’s, Concord, Liverpool, and Campbelltown hospitals and include psychologists, scientists, theatre technicians, kitchen staff, cleaners, security guards, and others.

During the pandemic, hospital parking was free but since February, workers with permits have been charged up to $27.20 (US$17.66) a week.

That works out to about $1,300 a year if staff park five days a week, 48 weeks a year.

Some Staff Could Pay $2,600 a Year

Staff who did not have a parking permit because they were still on a waiting list to get one are being charged up to $11 a day, costing them about $2,600 a year, the union said.

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“The great parking gouge must stop,” HSU assistant secretary Lauren Hutchins said.

“With surging cost of living pressures, charging staff $2,600 to park at work is obscene and immoral.

“Health workers across NSW sacrificed their own wellbeing to protect the community during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a funny way to thank them for their sacrifice.

“It’s the NSW government making workers pay the price for privatised hospital carparks. In what other workplace can you charge workers thousands of dollars for the privilege of coming to work?

“The anger and frustration of HSU members is at boiling point. So today HSU members across 16 public hospitals will take part in industrial action, calling on the NSW government, NSW Health, and local hospital management, to roll back the increases, to sit down and talk through a fair parking plan that addresses fees, access, and staff safety. Pretty reasonable I reckon.”

Before the pandemic, parking was $12 a week for workers with permits, and union members are calling on hospitals to return to this rate.

AAP contributed to this report