Oliver Brown
07 June 2022, 9:20 PM
MEMBERS of the Public Service Association (PSA) will go ahead with a statewide full-day strike action today (Wednesday 8 June), calling Premier Dominic Perrottet's offer to tweak the public sector wage cap "insulting".
Thousands of PSA members from across the Western Plains are expected to converge in Dubbo today as part of the strike action.
The action follows several months of one-sided communication from the PSA, asking the NSW Government to waive the long-standing 2.5 per cent wage cap increase this year.
According to the PSA, those requests received no response and the organisation was then blindsided when earlier this week, the NSW Government announced a new public sector wages policy which would increase pay for public sector workers like nurses, RFS staff, teachers and paramedics.
The policy offered an increase from the long-standing 2.5 per cent pay cap increase to three per cent, with a one-off $3000 bonus for NSW Health employees in recognition of their work on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new wages policy was intended to show its dedication to frontline services.
“A strong public service is essential to delivering what matters to make daily life better,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Our sound economic management allows us to invest in our people through higher wages and more frontline workers and continue to deliver the best services in the country and a brighter economic future for the people of NSW.”
Meanwhile, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said the increase in wages was fair and sustainable in the current economic climate.
“NSW is currently enjoying the lowest unemployment on record and it is important to maintain competitive wages to attract and retain the best talent," Mr Kean said.
"In the context of a strong and growing economy this two-year increase to wages is an affordable and sensible policy.”
However, following a meeting of PSA executives on the morning of Monday 6 June, the offer was rejected.
PSA General Secretary Stewart Little said the offer was "pure politics" and a shameless attempt to divide workers from different industries.
"Inflation is running at over five per cent. If frontline workers take three percent - the best they could hope for under Mr Perrottet's offer - they would still be going backward by thousands of dollars a year," Mr Little said.
"If the Premier is going to insist that workers deserve a pay cut he's going to meet fierce resistance."
The one-off bonus has also been met with negative reception.
PSA Assistant Secretary Troy Wright said 45 per cent of its member base live and work outside Sydney, meaning the organisation has a strong focus on also advocating for its regional members.
"The government have offered our frontline health workers what they call an 'appreciation bonus', however we also have members out in regional communities working in child protection, school education and prisons who have also been working throughout the pandemic," Mr Wright said.
"We also have members in the RFS who were involved in the bushfire crisis of 2019/20 and then SES workers who worked through the flood crisis in Lismore this year.
"And yet the government doesn't seem to think they're worthy of an appreciation bonus."
Mr Wright also pointed out any wage increase for public sector workers would flow on to regional economies.
"A research project we did through the South Coast Labour Council showed that 80 cents on the dollar of public sector wages is spent in regional communities," he said.
"So by advocating for our members, we're also advocating for economic stimulus in local towns because that money gets spent at local cafés, bakeries and other businesses, therefore providing more job opportunities in regional communities."
In addition to the major strike action in Sydney out the front of Parliament House, smaller rallies have been organised elsewhere in NSW, with one in Dubbo being the largest held in the central west.
Mr Wright said with around 100-200 members in most regional communities, the PSA was directing thousands of members across the central west to take part in the industrial action, whether by joining them in Dubbo or at a more local level
The PSA strike action in Dubbo is set to take place from 10am at the front of Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders' office with speeches and watching a broadcast of the Sydney rally expected to take place throughout the day.