‘Demonstrates the disappointment’ parliament staff set to walk off job in protest at pay offer
State parliament staff will walk off job for the first time in history in protest as part of an industrial dispute.
SA News
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State parliament will grind to a halt next week as staff walk off the job as part of an industrial dispute over pay and conditions that has lasted almost a year.
It is believed to be the first time parliamentary staff have taken such action but employee advocate Gary Collis said more stop work meetings and even strikes could not be ruled out unless agreement is reached.
“I think anything is possible at this stage,’’ said Mr Collis, director of Australian Employment Alliance, who is representing the workers. “I think it demonstrates the disappointment the employees have with their employer.’’
The stop work meeting will be held in the parliamentary canteen, known as the Blue Room, on Wednesday at 11am and is scheduled to run for 53 minutes.
In an email sent to all Members of parliament, a working group representing the employees wrote ‘’we sincerely hope that you understand that we do not take this decision lightly and we would be most grateful for your understanding and support’’.
“Whether you can attend or not, you may wish to support us by wearing BLUE on 30 October – to signify the location in the BLUE Room, that Staff are feeling BLUE, that we have been talking ‘til we are BLUE in the face, but the employers have not resolved our BLUE!’’ the email said.
The industrial action will involve workers from Joint Parliamentary Services and the Legislative Council and will disrupt areas including catering, Hansard and building services, meaning committee meetings could be brought to a halt.
Speaker Leon Bignell has responsibility for the staff but parliamentary clerks Rick Crump and Chris Schwartz have been conducting the negotiations since December last year.
In August, staff were offered a 4 per cent pay rise, followed by successive increases of 3.5 per cent.
The workers have asked for an initial pay rise of 10 per cent followed by 6 per cent and 5 per cent and said research had shown their pay had fallen more than 13 per cent behind CPI since 2020.
Mr Collis, however, said the pay rises were not the biggest issue and that workers wanted an independent review conducted that compared remuneration in SA to parliaments interstate. He said it was the same method used when Mr Crump and Mr Schwarz were awarded a $100,000 pay rise this year.
“If the employer Mr Bignell sat down and talked about having a review I think we could reach agreement on everything else within five minutes,’’ he said.
Greens co-leader Tammy Franks and SA Best MP Connie Bonaros said they supported the industrial action.
“These are the people who keep parliament’s doors open,’’ Ms Bonaros said.
In a statement, Mr Crump and Mr Schwarz said they anticipated “minimal disruption’’ from the action.
Mr Bignell was contacted for comment.
Originally published as ‘Demonstrates the disappointment’ parliament staff set to walk off job in protest at pay offer
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