The NSW public sector union has agreed to a 4 per cent pay rise for more than 80,000 public servants, marking the effective end of the state’s decades-long wage cap.
“The Liberal-Nationals’ wages cap eroded trust between essential workers and government, suppressed wages and led to the staffing crisis. The wages cap is dead,” she said.“The people of NSW deserve world-class public services. We will continue to keep people at the heart of all of our work.” While 4 per cent is below the March Consumer Price Index of 5.1 per cent, it is the biggest pay increase for NSW public sector employees in 20 years.
It comes as state governments are revising their wage caps in the face of high inflation, with Queensland paying out 6 per cent increases including CPI bonuses and VictoriaThe Reserve Bank has cited state wage caps as one of the inhibitors to overall wage growth, but has also cautioned against excessive pay rises out of concerns they could perpetuate high inflation.
HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said that the voting would end next Friday but was “pretty split - it’s not far off 50-50”.He said the pay rise meant those earning less than $90,000 – the majority of his union’s members – would get pay rises above 4 per cent while those earning more would get less than 4 per cent. However, the HSU will run work-value cases to increase award rates for those on higher salaries.
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said his union’s award did not expire until the end of the year. Nevertheless, it had been negotiating with the government since the election and had set a deadline for an outcome by July 31.
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