Premier won’t rule out PS job cuts and blames unions for the breakdown in wage talks

The Premier has admitted he does not know when or how the long-running public service pay fight will be resolved – and hasn’t ruled out job cuts to pay for any wage rise.

Public service union members at a rally on Parliament Lawns.

THE Government’s showdown with public sector workers is heading for an unknown result at an uncertain time.

Premier Will Hodgman says he does not know when or how the long-running pay and conditions dispute will be resolved by the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

But he says the failure to reach an agreement in 18 months of stop-start talks is all the fault of unions.

And Mr Hodgman did not rule out job cuts if the Industrial Commission granted pay rises in excess of the modest increases the state budget has allowed for.

“Well we’ll wait and see what the Industrial Commission determines and obviously accommodate that within our budget,” he said. “I’m not ruling in anything or indeed ruling anything out because it’s a matter that needs to be determined independently by the Industrial Commission with all the evidence before it.

“I think after over 100 meetings with unions, over a number of offers that we’ve put forward which have broken the pay cap, that have improved terms and conditions, that have been in some instances well received by unions but not by others, we need to get this matter independently assessed through the Industrial Commission.”

Mr Hodgman said he had no estimate of how long the Commission would take to resolve the dispute.

“The advice is that it’s a matter for the Industrial Commission to determine how long they need to consider this matter and reach a conclusion,” he said.

Labor leader Rebecca White said the Government had effectively lost control of the outcome of the dispute.

“The Government needs to recognise that their failure to negotiate an outcome here could mean that Tasmanian nurses and firefighters — being some of the lowest paid in the country — could now be awarded a much greater pay increase as a result of an Industrial Commission looking at this matter if it goes that far,” she said.

“I heard the Premier say today that he will accept the outcome from the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

“If that outcome is a greater wage increase — given that workers are earning far less than their mainland counterparts — then he will have to explain how he’ll pay for that.”

United Firefighters Union national vice president Leigh Hills condemned Mr Hodgman for cancelling talks scheduled for Thursday.

“Our firefighters held up their end of the deal as requested by the Premier and then the Premier comes out and cancels on them and refuses to meet,” he said.

“Where is his good faith? This Premier and his Treasurer could not have been more disrespectful of Tasmania’s hard-working firefighters if they’d tried.

“They’ve been deceitful, tricky and dishonest with their workforce and the public.”