Chris Minns Labor government flags pay rise and wage cap scrap for NSW public sector workers
Revealed: When millions of Aussies could finally get a pay rise if cost-of-living pressure bites
- NSW public sector workers receive pay rise
- The national government is working on abolishing the wage ceiling
- Negotiations with the unions are ongoing
Public sector workers in NSW will receive a generous pay rise, while the controversial pay cap is expected to be abolished by the end of this year.
NSW Prime Minister Chris Minns made changes to public sector wages a key election pledge during his campaign.
State Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says the date for the pay changes is still being worked out as negotiations with unions continue.
“The cap is going, we’re replacing it with a system that delivers better outcomes for essential workers and better outcomes for people of NSW who rely on us to provide essential services,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.
NSW public sector workers will receive a generous pay rise this year as the state government works to remove the wage cap (stock image)
The treasurer described the discussions with union leaders as ‘constructive’ and thanked them for ‘come to the table in good faith’.
“We are working on the issues related to the wage position that will be reached on June 30,” he said.
A four percent wage increase for one year was reportedly offered in negotiations with union officials. The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
It is also believed that a pension increase of 0.5 percent is on the table.
The NSW government is under increasing pressure to deliver on its promises as it faces industry action in the public sector.
The public sector is particularly struggling with the wage ceiling, which currently stands at three percent.
Minns had pledged during the election campaign in March to abolish the cap on public sector wages.
Mr Mookhey has blamed the former coalition government for the industry’s problems.
“We need to modernize an industrial relations system that has been neglected by the coalition in NSW for the past 12 years,” said the treasurer.
State paramedics and patient movers launched a 24-hour strike last Thursday, refusing to transport patients home or to retirement homes.
NSW treasurer Daniel Mookhey (pictured) says date for pay changes is still being worked out as negotiations with union officials are underway
Paramedics launched industrial action last Thursday when NSW Health Services Union Secretary Gerard Hayes (right) called for the pay cap to be abolished in the public sector on July 1
NSW Health Services Union Secretary, Gerard Hayes, claimed that the Minns government was too slow to remove the wage cap and negotiate a wage increase for workers.
“We don’t like doing this, we don’t want to do this,” he said last week.
“But we’re not dorks and we’re not going to sit back and let the government promise to deliver results to working people and then prioritize things that aren’t real.”
Mr. Hayes has called for the pay cap to be abolished as of 1 July.
It comes weeks after the Health Services Union launched a union action that saw hospital workers walk out of their jobs.
Health workers are demanding an annual wage increase of 6.5 percent.