To politics now where a new battlefront is emerging between the Cook government and the state’s nursing workforce which have just rejected the state’s latest pay offer.

The Australian Nursing Federation WA secretary Romina Raschilla described the rejection of the 12.25 per cent pay increase over three years as “unanimous”.

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“It’s very clear from what members have told me, and I personally believe: that we can and must do better than this offer,” said Raschilla.

“The nursing and midwifery professions are vital services to our ever-growing state, so to not only maintain but expand our healthcare workforce, we must first value them.

“This offer does not go far enough to make Western Australia an attractive option for nurses and midwives, nor does it adequately reward the essential work they do.

Raschilla said with the state election just months away the union was in the strongest bargaining position it had been in for years.

“This is our opportunity to claw back the vital ground that has been progressively lost and ensure Western Australia’s nurses and midwives are paid what they deserve,” she said.

The state government has offered WA nurses a 12.25 per cent pay rise over the next three years.

The offer includes a 5 per cent bump this year followed by a 4 per cent jump in 2025 and 3.25 per cent the year after.

The figure is 7.75 per cent less than the 20 per cent rise over three years that former ANF secretary Mark Olsen demanded in September.