An image of Irish nurses in Australia standing in solidarity with their colleagues in Ireland has gained a lot of attention on social media.
The powerful photo which was posted earlier today shows a crowd of nurses along with a banner that reads 'Give us a reason to come home'.
Around 300 Irish nurses and midwives working in Sydney and New South Wales gathered on the steps of Sydney Opera House to show support for the impending strike action by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA).
"We stand with the INMO and the PNA who are fighting for us," said Laura Phillips in a video posted to Facebook.
"We will not come home until our skills are recognised and we are paid equally with other allied health professionals.
"It is not competitive pay rates that Ireland is offering and therefore there is a recruitment issue and a crisis in Ireland and at the end of the day this directly affects patient safety and that's why we're here.
"So we send a message to Leo, to Simon and all of the Irish government: Give us a reason to come home."
The photo has been widely shared online with the hashtags #GiveUsAReasonToComeHome and #StandWithNursesAndMidwives.
