Labor’s grand bargain for public service

ALP promises above-inflation pay rises for public servants, rolls back Coalition ‘efficiency’ cuts.

Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor. Picture: Kym Smith

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

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

Labor 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 workers.

Costings released by the ALP yesterday have Labor generating $2.644 billion over four years by cutting spending on contractors, consultancies, and travel. The cost of employing the extra 1200 DHS staff is budgeted at $340 million.

Labor will also save $160m by abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission. 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.

“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.

Ms Flood said the Coalition had shown “absolute contempt” for federal government 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,” she said.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil said the federal government should be a best-practice employer, not amplify the worst trends in our broken industrial relations system.

“All Australian workers need a pay rise and better job security. The federal government has a respon­sib­ility to provide this for its own employees. The Morrison gov­ern­ment has done the exact opposite and hollowed out conditions and pay at the public service.”