What you said about LNP, unions on wage collision course

Unions could deliver rolling strike action if monster wage demands aren’t met – and many aren’t happy. HAVE YOUR SAY

Treasurer David Janetzki

The state government may need to find an extra $2.8bn over three years to fund big pay rises across the public sector or face rolling strike action – and taxpayers aren’t happy.

In the latest financial headache for the newly minted Crisafulli government, the administration will need to negotiate new three-year pay deals with three major arms of the frontline public sector in the next few months.

The enterprise bargaining deal with the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (74,000 members) expires in March this year with formal negotiations to begin with Queensland Health next week.

The agreement with teachers and frontline police expires in June 2025, paramedics in August this year, and the rest into 2026.

Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King

Queensland’s top union boss Jacqueline King says the labour movement is hopeful of securing a central wages policy – as had been secured before – to lock in the same wage rise for the state’s 270,000 public servants.

She said the Queensland Council of Unions, together with the major public sector unions, won’t rule out rolling strikes.

News of the wage demands sparked anger among readers.

Some claimed it was another case of unions getting their own way; others insisted the whole debate is a mess.

See what you had to say below and join the conversation >>>

WHAT YOU SAID

What a joke

Judith

Link all pay rises to increased productivity like the private sector.

Time to cut the red tape and remove 50% of the seat warmers in the public service.

Paul R

This is a horrendous situation that Public Servants wish to inflict on Queensland’s Taxpayers, they should be ashamed of themselves.

John

Wonder why a payrise and strike threat was not on the agenda for the last 4 years of labor government?

Paul

Didn’t take the Unions long, why didn’t they do it under when Labor were in.

Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

It’s a mess

John & Mrs Sandy

Pay rises in Australia have not kept up with inflation, making it hard for almost everyone. This is not so much the case in other countries where pay increases have been granted. Yes, there has to be a balance between granting pay increases and inflation, but Australians are suffering more than those in other countries.

dave

Just a small amount in the scheme of things, pay has to increase due to inflation, so if you want a productivity increase pay rise to need to be greater than inflation. High inflation and high wage increases are the best thing that can happen to anyone who has debt, as it devalues your debt. Banks are the biggest losers.

Out of Thyme

Where do these over entitled Public Servants think this money is coming from? What are they going to deliver for this extra payment. Is this tied to some kind of KPI metrics?

Graeme

Of course the unions are stirring up trouble – they don’t look after their own members when Labor is in power but as soon as the LNP are in government they start the demands … the irony and the hypocrisy is frankly hard to take for taxpayers.

Time for change

Boswoz

Besides the almost 7% increases they got under Palaszczuk, there have also been massive adjustments in grades.

issy

We wouldn’t notice the difference. Replace them with AI.

Reg

Sack them all, excepting critical workers, no one know the difference, them advertise all the positions that need to be filled at standard wage rate for the positions.

jeff

Let them strike. With a cost of living crisis, they won’t strike for long.

Originally published as What you said about LNP, unions on wage collision course