Labor pledges public service pay rises, new positions

Labor has promised above-inflation pay rises for federal public servants and 1200 new staff.

Brendan O'Connor has spruiked Labor’s boost to the public service. Picture: Kym Smith

Federal Labor has promised above-inflation pay rises for federal public servants and the reversal of “efficiency” cuts planned by the Coalition next year before moving to a sector wide bargaining framework if Bill Shorten wins the election.

In a move welcomed by unions which have battled the Coalition over public sector pay and conditions for six years, Labor today committed to “real wages increases underpinned by productivity growth” for federal public sector workers.

Labor pledged to add 1200 new permanent full-time Department of Human Services staff, scrap the 0.5 per cent efficiency dividend next financial year, abolish the average staffing level cap, and cut spending on travel, contractors and consultants.

It also promised to restore workers’ rights removed by the Liberals, accusing the government of cutting the pay and working conditions of staff and reducing the living standards for many worker.

In a joint statement, Labor frontbenchers Brendan O’Connor and Jim Chalmers said “real wage increases underpinned by productivity growth and delivered through fair and genuine negotiations — not cuts to conditions or rights — are more important in ensuring a dependable APS workforce able to deliver on a government’s objectives”.

They said a Labor government would undertake genuine service-wide negotiations on pay and common conditions with agency specific conditions negotiated at the agency level.

“Developing the first service-wide move towards fixing the Liberals’ bargaining mess is a major undertaking that would first require some preparation time in government,’’ they said.

“Prior to commencing service-wide bargaining, Labor would consider what interim arrangements may be required and how these would be taken into account in service-wide bargaining.”

Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Nadine Flood welcomed Labor’s commitment to “provide fair wages, working conditions and secure jobs to Commonwealth workers”.

“Labor has pledged to take a vastly different approach to workplace relations for the Australian Public Service, undoing the harm caused to public sector workers and their families by the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government through a wage freeze of three years or more and large-scale cuts to working conditions, particularly family friendly conditions,’’ she said.

She said the Coalition had shown “absolute contempt” for Commonwealth workers and their families.

“Prime Minister Scott Morrison can pretend to care about ordinary families struggling with the rising cost of living, but the reality is the government froze the wages of almost 150,000 workers for years. They deliberately cut wages for public sector workers on average wages, just like they’ve deliberately suppressed wages of ordinary Australians around the country.”