Unions on attack after Tasmanian Government misses deadline in ongoing public sector dispute
UPDATED: The State Government has abandoned its hard line on wages policy and urged public servants to accept its improved pay offer. READ THE EDITORIAL
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UPDATED: THE State Government has abandoned its hard line on wages policy and urged public servants to accept its improved pay offer.
The new deal came on Thursday morning, as unions held a media conference lambasting the
Government for disrespecting workers by missing a critical deadline by 22 hours.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the offer was for greater pay increases in return for productivity trade-offs.
EDITORIAL: TIME TO SORT OUT PS PAY DISPUTE
He said the Government was proposing a new three-year agreement with a 2 per cent wage increase in the first year, a 2.25 per cent rise in the second year and 2.5 per cent in the third instead of a flat 2 per cent annual rise.
But he said the deal would be contingent on unions agreeing to “a range of efficiencies and productivity measures”.
“Those measures go to things like better management of overtime, bringing the state into line in terms of public holidays with other states across the country,” Mr Gutwein said.
“We’ll be writing to the unions today explaining to them that we’re prepared to revise upwards the state wages policy subject to the unions and their members agreeing to a range of efficiencies and productivity measures that we’ve discussed with them for the last two weeks.”
Mr Gutwein said the offer was a “fair outcome” that met the unions halfway and followed two weeks of negotiations.
“They have not said at any time: ‘take what’s being proposed off the table’,” he said.
Asked whether the unions had been given a deadline to respond to the Government’s offer, Mr Gutwein said he was “certain that they will respond in some way today”.
He said the existing 2 per cent wage cap had not caused difficulties with recruitment in the public health sector.
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He urged unions to put the deal to their members.
“There’s also a medium-term review in terms of the State Service Act where we would look to work with the unions and the public sector to ensure that we can arrive at a fit-for-purpose public sector framework for the 21st century,” Mr Gutwein said.
The Australian Education Union’s state manager Roz Madsen said the Government was playing games with public sector workers.
“The Premier missed the deadline of 12 noon on Wednesday and rather than providing a simple and fair wage offer, we suddenly have a shopping list of demands without the detail necessary for unions to properly consider it,” she said.
“Will Hodgman owes Tasmanian public sector workers an apology for the disrespect he has shown them and he owes all Tasmanians an apology for failing to provide an end to the disruption and uncertainty his Government is causing with their political games.
“The way the Premier has handled this demonstrates a lack of respect for public sector workers and his preoccupation with playing political games rather than prioritising the concerns of educators.”
Thirza White, from the CPSU, said the Government wasn’t taking the process seriously.
“What we’re seeing is another political game,” she said.
“From a CPSU point of view we actually suspended our industrial action prior to Christmas. “And we did that in order to give Premier Hodgman and his team an opportunity to demonstrate that they are committed to bargaining with their workforce.
“It’s been 73 days and now we get an offer five minutes before a press conference and 22 hours after its due date.”
EARLIER: UNIONS have accused the State Government of treating its workforce with disrespect and “playing games” after it missed a key deadline in pay talks.
The Hodgman Government promised to get back to unions with an updated offer by noon yesterday.
But it only came good 22 hours later, as unions prepared to announce significantly increased industrial action.
Public sector unions representing the bulk of the workforce have been seeking a pay rise in excess of the Government’s unilateral two per cent cap.
Australian Education Union spokeswoman Roz Madsen said sending some unions what appeared to be a revised offer five minutes before their announcement was unacceptable.
“For us collectively and also for us in our separate unions and the work that we do for our members, there is a deep feeling of disrespect,” she said.
“There was no need for this to occur, for a letter to be sent five minutes before a media conference.
“The deadline was clearly 12 o’clock yesterday.
“We had collectively returned last week to confirm that deadline. A number of us have made inquiries yesterday about the deadline and whether we could expect an offer.
“And all of those inquiries were unanswered.”
Thirza White, from the CPSU, said the Government wasn’t taking the process seriously.
“What we’re seeing is another political game,” she said.
“From a CPSU point of view, we actually suspended our industrial action prior to Christmas. “And we did that in order to give Premier Hodgman and his team an opportunity to demonstrate that they are committed to bargaining with their workforce.
“It’s been 73 days and now we get an offer five minutes before a press conference and 22 hours after its due date.”
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