QLD public servants in line for major parental leave hike

David Crisafulli has left the door open to dramatically increasing paid parental leave for Queensland public servants and delivering a pay rise above the 2.5 per cent budgeted by Labor.

LNP leader David Crisafulli during a media conference at Townsville Montessori Early Learning Centre. Picture: Liam Kidston

David Crisafulli has left the door open to dramatically increasing paid parental leave for Queensland public servants and delivering a pay rise above the 2.5 per cent budgeted by Labor, declaring he was “very happy” to sit-down and negotiate with union leaders over greater entitlements.

Unions are pushing both Mr Crisafulli and Labor Premier Steven Miles to commit to doubling the combined parental leave to 36 weeks for the state’s 260,000 public servants, allowing each parent to access 18 weeks of government-funded leave.

Currently in Queensland, the primary caregiver is entitled to 14 weeks’ leave and one week for their partner.

Mr Crisafulli, who visited a Townsville daycare centre on Monday morning, stopped short of guaranteeing paid parental leave would be increased but said he would welcome a meeting with union leaders.

“We want the union to understand that we will always negotiate in good faith, that is the way it should be,” he said.

“I’ve always been available to meet unions, I’ve always be available to listen to people, my record shows that and I am happy to do exactly the same in this situation.”

Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King has argued the current entitlements were exacerbating the gender pay gap.

Asked if he agreed, Mr Crisafulli said: “We are happy to receive their submission, and I can assure you, we will act in good faith, in very good faith”.

He gave a similar response when pressed about whether an LNP government would lift wages for nurses, teachers and police above the annual 2.5 per cent increase budgeted for by the Labor government.

“I commit to negotiating in good faith and making sure that frontline staff understand that they deserve to be well paid, and I see the high attrition rates, and there is a real need to make sure that we retain the best that we have and attract the best of the future.

According to Labor’s budget forecasts, workers would receive a real wage cut next financial year if wage increases were limited to 2.5 per cent, with inflation predicted to rise to 3.25 per cent in 2025-26. Treasury forecasts the wage rate will keep pace with inflation for the next two years.

Asked if he would guarantee wages kept pace with inflation, Mr Crisafulli said: “We will sit down with the unions, we will listen to the staff, and we will make sure that pay and conditions are the kind that we can attract and retain the best”.

“I want the unions to know we will negotiate in good faith, I want those frontline staff to know they’ll be respected and valued, and good wages is an important part of that, so too is good conditions.

“Our first priority is to give them the environment to go and do their job, and we want them to also know that good pay is an important part of it.”

Ms King, who heads the peak body of unions representing 400,000 Queenslanders, said she had written to Mr Crisafulli last week seeking a commitment to back the push for “decent wages” after already lobbying the Labor government, and with nurses beginning their EBA negotiations before the campaign.

“We will campaign and take protected industrial action, whether it is Labor or the LNP in government, to achieve a good outcome,’’ she told The Australian.

“The members are hungry for a fight.”

Queensland public servants have be able to access an extra 10 days leave for IVF treatment, menstrual pain, vasectomy recovery and prostate or breast cancer screening since September, costing taxpayers up to $80m each year.

The ACTU is now pushing the Albanese government to insert reproductive leave entitlements into the National Employment Standards, though the federal government has signalled it would not be backing the union claim.

Premier Steven Miles and Labor MP Cynthia Lui at the Royal Flying Doctor Service hangar in Cairns on Monday. Picture: Adam Head

Meanwhile, Mr Miles, campaigning in Cairns on Monday, said Labor has a strong track record of working with the unions, as seen by NSW nurses demanding the same conditions as their Queensland counterparts.

“We will bargain with the unions and the workforce in good faith, as we always do, and we have consistently resolved excellent enterprise bargaining agreements for those workers,” Mr Miles said.

“Their campaign is also seeking more equal access to parental leave for both parents, a principle that I think makes sense as well.

“Our nurses are the best paid in the country. In fact, New South Wales nurses are currently running a campaign to be paid as well as Queensland nurses. It’s a great campaign. We will always take care of our health workers and our public sector workers.”

Mr Miles said that in the three years the LNP were in power, they refused to negotiate with the public service, which led to strike and protest action.

“David Crisafulli was a flag bearer for that effort,” he said.