Premier Will Hodgman urged to find solution to PS pay fight

Labor has called on the Premier to intervene to fix the public sector pay dispute ahead of more stopwork meetings.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein says the Government has been negotiating in good faith. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

LABOR has called on the Premier to intervene to find a solution to the public sector pay dispute.

Unions will hold a stopwork meeting on Parliament Lawns on Wednesday in support of their campaign to overturn the Government’s 2 per cent cap on annual wage rises.

The campaign has included industrial action including walk-offs by teachers and work bans from a range of public servants, such as nurses and park rangers.

Labor’s Opposition Treasury spokesman Scott Bacon said Premier Will Hodgman needed to involve himself in negotiations to solve the dispute.

“What’s incumbent on the Premier to do now is to involve himself in negotiations with teachers, nurses and other hardworking public servants so that they can get a fair pay increase that at least keeps pace with the cost of living,” he said.

“We do know that what the Treasurer’s put on the table with the 2 per cent wage cap is actually a cut in real terms to people’s living standards.

“You can’t expect teachers, nurses and other public servants to take a wage cut in what the Government calls very good economic times.

“It’s time that the Premier himself got involved in these negotiations so that this issue can be resolved.”

Premier Will Hodgman. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Labor’s Scott Bacon. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

But Treasurer Peter Gutwein accused Labor of “playing political games on public sector wages”.

“The Liberal Government has been negotiating in good faith with all public sector unions, and last week put forward a second formal offer to teachers,” he said.

“The Australian Education Union should follow its own advice to negotiate in good faith and call off all industrial action while considering the fair and affordable pay rise offer the Government has put forward.”