NSW Premier, Chris Minns says his Government is delivering on its election commitments to fix essential services by delivering the biggest pay rises to NSW essential workers in decades as part of today’s Budget announcement.
He said that since being elected, the Government had worked closely with public sector unions to negotiate better industrial instruments for staff and, ultimately, better services for the people of NSW.
So far, 41 industrial instruments have locked in pay increases for more than 190,000 public sector workers, including health workers, rural fire service and child protection officers, with more still to come.
“This is part of the Government’s efforts to restore essential services and address critical staff shortages across the public sector,” the Premier said.
“These industrial instruments will now mean better pay which will help retain and develop existing staff while attracting new talent to make sure we can keep the State’s essential services like schools, hospitals, and national parks running smoothly for the people of NSW.
“In June 2023, the NSW Government took the first steps towards recognising the valuable work of our essential workers with the largest pay rise in more than a decade by providing a 4.5% pay increase to public sector employees in 2023-24.”
The pay increase for more than 400,000 public sector employees was just the beginning of a longterm plan to support wage growth and rebuild essential services, said Mr Minns.
The 2023-24 NSW Budget builds on these efforts with a range of measures locked in, including:
- Removal of the previous government’s wages cap from 1 September 2023.
- A $3.6 billion Essential Services Fund to support a new bargaining framework.
- Investing more than $2.5 billion to recruit and retain health workers.
- Securing a historic pay rise for the state’s nearly 100,000 teachers.
