The Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) says it will tell the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) that its members are not breaking any laws by walking off the job in the Torres Strait over workplace health and safety issues.
The IRC has used its powers to convene a compulsory conference between the QNU and Queensland Health after nurses voted to stop work on Thursday.
QNU spokeswoman Beth Mohle says she will be informing the IRC her members are legally entitled to leave if they believe it is unsafe to live and work in the region, after a colleague was raped.
"There still are issues of great concern to our members that are fundamental to their security in their workplace and that's what we still have to resolve, so we still have a bit of a way to go,'' she said.
"Nurses are removing themselves from what they believe is an unsafe situation.
"It is not strike action as such, it is actually under health and safety legislation that we are taking this action."
Nurses say it is not safe to live and work in the region and they want Queensland Health to improve the situation before they return.
Source: By Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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