Thousand union members sign petition urging State Government to reverse the public servant pay freeze

Furious union members are calling on the Premier to reverse her decision to freeze pay rises of public servants saying it is ‘selling out frontline workers putting their own safety at risk’.

MORE than 1000 AWU members have signed a petition in less than a week urging Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to reverse the pay rise freeze for public servants.

Queensland secretary Steve Baker said members had made it clear that “it’s just not good enough for a Labor Premier to sell out frontline health workers during this time”.

“Frontline health workers are putting their own safety at risk each and every day they go to

work,” he said.

“Our cleaners, security staff, wardies, and kitchen staff are the ones controlling the spread of

infection and treating patients at great personal risk to themselves, all to keep the rest of us

safe.”

PUBLIC SERVANTS GET $1250 BONUS

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been called on to unfreeze public service payrises. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

Neither the Premier or Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace commented yesterday.

The Office of Industrial Relations also refused to answer questions about how the pay rise freeze would be enacted, given some workers like nurses and teachers had already formalised their EBAs.

Mr Baker said it was disappointing the wage freeze announcement came just days after white- collar public servants received a $1250 bonus.

“How is it that this Government has found tens of millions of dollars over the past few years to pay expensive, third party consultants but can’t afford to pay its own frontline health workers who are battling a global pandemic?” he said.

Deputy LNP Leader Tim Mander said he didn’t think pay rises for public servants on the frontline were appropriate at the moment.

“The issue of pay rise for public servants is one that’s quite vexed,” he said.

“Most people would say at the moment that pay rises shouldn’t be given in the current climate and those issues should be looked at down the track.”

Mr Mander said no one was denying the great work health workers were doing, but some “constraint” was required at the moment.

“It’s not that I don’t think they deserve a pay rise, I think right at the moment I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he said.