Time for unions to get back to the table and negotiate in good faith
Tasmanians have every right to ask why they have been targeted for disruption by union leaders when there is a fair, reasonable and affordable pay rise offer on the table that will do exactly what their members have been calling for – better conditions for their members and that also allows for more staff to be recruited.
The CPSU has indicated they will take their offer to members yet they still plan to escalate industrial action which Tom Lynch has publicly admitted will impact on hospitals, police stations, fire stations, libraries and Service Tasmania.
In doing so the CPSU are failing their own good faith test.
I urge the CPSU and other unions to suspend planned industrial action aimed at causing maximum disruption, allow their members to consider what is a comprehensive offer, representing the most significant and meaningful improvement to public sector employment conditions in a decade, and come back to the table and negotiate in good faith.
It includes;
- A fair, reasonable and affordable pay rise of six per cent over three years,
- Delivering permanent employment after listening long-standing concerns from State Service employees,
- Attracting the best and brightest into the State Service through an innovative $1 million per annum youth employment program for year 12 school leavers,
- Improved superannuation benefits which will see State Service employees on unpaid Parental Leave receive superannuation contributions,
- Improved family benefits with significant improvements to a range of conditions, including increases to Parental and Partner Leave, demonstrating the Government’s continued commitment to providing a family friendly workplace, and
- More flexible employment arrangements.
Our offer ensures that we can continue to fund the frontline services that matter to Tasmanians.
Unions cannot claim to be negotiating in good faith when they are disrupting essential services rather than allowing their members to consider our very fair and reasonable offer.
The Government has always held the view that we believe all of Tasmania’s hardworking public sector staff deserve a pay rise, but it must be fair, it must be sustainable, and it must be affordable.
