Public service pay claims a threat to state’s budget

Queensland’s fragile budget is under threat as public service employees from various sectors demand big pay increases.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk inspect progress on the North Queensland Stadium. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Queensland’s fragile budget bottom­ line is under threat as public service employees from various sectors demand pay increases above the government’s allocated rate.

The budget papers last month stated the forward estimates were sensitive to higher-than-expected increases to salaries of the government’s bloated public service.

A general increase of wages by 1 per cent above the Palaszczuk Labor government’s policy rate of 2.5 per cent would increase expenses­ by $254 million a year, compounding over time.

Industrial action by at least three divisions, including the large police and education sectors — each demanding increases well above 2.5 per cent — could force departments to spend less on services­ and programs.

Queensland’s ballooning public service has exacerbated the problem, with the share of governme­nt expenditure devoted to employees set to hit 42.2 per cent next financial year.

A decade ago, under the Bligh government, employee expenses comprised only 38.3 per cent of state expenditure. When superannuation increases are accounted for, the government will next year set aside 48.2 per cent of its expenditure for staff.

The Australian revealed last month that Queensland spent more on public sector employees per capita than any other state.

The Palaszczuk government will spend $5590 per capita on state employees, well above Victoria’s $4393 and NSW’s $4640.

Enterprise bargaining talks are under way with the outspoken Queensland Police Union, which The Australian understands is seeking a 4 per cent pay rise.

Teachers voted last week to walk out of the classroom this month in a 24-hour strike to push for a 4.5 per cent pay rise. It would be the first 24-hour strike since 2009. The Queensland Teachers Union has called for better pay and an easing of workload pressure if the strikes are to be averted.

Corrective services employees have also engaged in strike action since April, forcing some prisons into lockdown, after the government offered a 2.5 per cent pay increase­ without negotiation.

The Together Union, which represents prison officers, said the offer from Queensland Correct­ive Services was “offensive”.

“The gap between what the government is offering and what we would accept as a fair deal is enormous,” the union said in a statement to members this week.

At a Queensland Industrial Relations­ Commission hearing on Thursday, the Together Union’s pitch for a pay rise was fast-tracked after being sent to early arbitration, ending protected industrial action and ensuring the commission will decide on the result.