Thousands of SA public servants strike, shutting down prisons and courts on Wednesday
Public servants earning $20,000 less than interstate counterparts have brought South Australia's essential services to a standstill as they fight for better wages.
Thousands of state public sector workers have staged one of the state’s largest industrial actions in decades, demanding fair pay after years of declining wages, losing 20 cents in every dollar since 2015.
The workers from numerous public sectors marched from Hindmarsh Square to Parliament House on Wednesday.
About 4000 people – from departments including corrections, youth justice, courts, administration, child protection and others – gathered on the steps of parliament demanding the Malinauskas Government offer a fair pay deal after the sector had fallen behind their award safety net.
Their half-day stoppage forced prisons into lockdown, closure of courts, and pathology centres to be stripped to minimum staff.
They are demanding a 20 per cent increase over an 18-month period.
The Advertiser understands the union will be meeting with Premier Peter Malinauskas in the coming days to discuss another offer.
One protester, Dr Jade Taylor from Forensic Science SA said her wages don’t match the “responsibility and the pressure” of the job they are expected to do everyday, which contributes to ensuring community safety.
“In forensic science we do a huge range of essential services for the state, we do testing of drugs for the police and assist in warning the public about dangerous drugs,” she said.
“We also conduct things like DNA sampling for sexual assault cases and post-mortem for homicide cases.
“Equivalent jobs interstate, a lot of them are earning up to $20,000 a year more than what we’re earning here – and we’re losing good people to interstate jobs or the private sector because of it.”
Dr Taylor says the low pay wage was critically affecting her financial stability after her rent increased by eight per cent this year alone, while her pay climbed only by 1.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, a court sheriff officer Andrew Oleszczuk, said he feels like they have been “neglected” by the government for far too long.
“It’s gut-wrenching and it’s just not fair,” he said.
“We are dealing with defendants, with custodies, and at any point in time our life could be at risk but we’re just being ignored.”
“I love what I do, I’m proud to be a sheriff’s officer and we just hope this action will result in fair pay and there won’t be any point in leaving.”
The Public Service Association (PSA) general secretary Charlotte Watson said it was one of the largest industrial actions in recent state history.
Ms Watson said the “mega march” demonstrated their “collective power and the urgency of this crisis”.
“We are hearing absolutely heartbreaking stories from our members on a regular basis,” she said.
“We have members telling us that they’ve got several cavities that they can’t afford to get filled, they are forgoing medical treatment that they need, another extreme example was a person skipping meals to be able to feed their kids.
“If members are on as low as $58,000 a year, they cannot have overtime in these roles, it really is a case of being on poverty wages at this point.
“So while 20 per cent may sound like a large quantum, it is actually what is required for us to be competitive with other states in the private sector.”
Ms Watson said members have lost the equivalent of 20 cents in every dollar they were earning in 2015.
Since September 11 this year, the government has been offering all 40,000 of the state’s public servants a 10.5 per cent pay rise over a three-year period.
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Originally published as Thousands of SA public servants strike, shutting down prisons and courts on Wednesday
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