Fronting the rain and wind, the workers stood in solidarity with Health Services Union (HSU) members around the state to demand higher wages on the back of surging living costs and staff shortages.

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HSU organiser Mark Jay said staff in the Southern NSW Health District had been hit extra hard by a restructure that began in August 2020, which exacerbated issues of staff shortages and staff burn out.

"When the restructure began, there was a commitment that there would be no forced redundancies," he said.

"Yet when position descriptions changed, staff who were already overworked, realised their workload would increase two to three times.

"Staff basically had a gun to their head and had to accept voluntary redundancy payouts, 100 jobs were lost."

Goulburn Base Hospital kitchen worker Tammy Ahearn said she had never worked as much overtime than in the past two years due to staff shortages.

She was one of the many workers who gathered outside the Hospital to strike.

"Wages and working conditions need to be modernised," Mr Jay said.

"After two years of a pandemic, fires and floods, staff are absolutely fatigued.

"Staff are leaving hand over fist and not coming back, health workers just can't survive."

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Leading the group at Goulburn Base Hospital was Lindy Howarth, who is currently on maternity leave and receiving half pay.

"I have an 11 week old and I have to say, living of half pay at the current pay rate, well it's unlivable," she said.

"The rate is really not acceptable when you have to support a young family.

"We risked ourselves and our families through the pandemic and we really deserve more."

After weighing arguments from the Union and Ministry of Health, the Industrial Relations Commission has opted for a conciliation hearing next week.

It comes after repeated attempts by the Health Services Union to open up the State's hospital awards and begin genuine bargaining for productivity-based pay rises.

Under the NSW wages cap, public sector pay increase can not legally exceed 2.5 per cent.

HSU is campaigning for a 5.5 per cent pay rise along with a broader shift that replaces the State wage cap with genuine bargaining to reflect the enhanced skills and productivity of the health workforce.

Goulburn health workers said this was the first, but not the last strike.

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