Nurses and midwives from Maitland and Kurri Kurri hospitals gathered out the front of their respective hospitals to show their support of the Sydney-based rally.

“It’s very difficult to get a lot of people together for a protest because of our heavy workloads and the nature of our profession, but this protest has been well supported here in Maitland,” NSW Nurses’ Association Maitland branch secretary Glenys Francis said.

Association general secretary Brett Holmes said the many nurses and midwives who are injured at work are at great risk of long-term financial distress if the government is allowed to further reduce the payments made to people injured at work.

“Hundreds of nurses and midwives, in public and private hospitals and aged care facilities, suffer serious injuries each year,” Mr Holmes said.

“These are not always high-profile injuries, but the sprain and strain injuries nurses and midwives often suffer can cost them thousands in lost income under the current system.

“The O’Farrell government plan will make those losses even worse, because it is not uncommon for these type of injuries, especially if they involve the back, to go on for months.”

Mr Holmes said a preliminary assessment of the plan indicates injured nurses and midwives could face, at least, a 20 per cent pay cut in the fourth month after their work injury.

“For a full-time experienced registered nurse in a public hospital, that is a pay cut of nearly $300 a week if they are injured for more than 13 weeks,” he said.

“For a full-time assistant in nursing in an aged care facility, that is a pay cut of nearly $150 a week.”