Public Service Association (PSA) members in NSW have been awarded their biggest pay rise in two decades, consisting of a 4% salary increase and a 0.5% increase in superannuation, to be backdated to the first pay period after 1 July.
PSA General Secretary, Stewart Little said the pay boost would go into the pockets of 80,000 public servants who kept the state going during the COVID-19 pandemic, child protection workers, Service NSW staff, SES and RFS employees, prison officers, school support staff and many more.
“This is the biggest increase to Public Sector wages since 2003-04 and comes after years of campaigning and lobbying by the PSA,” said Mr Little.
“When the NSW Government made the pay offer, the PSA surveyed its members, with 80% of respondents agreeing to accept the increase.
“The increase comes after a 12-year cap of up to 2.5% on wages implemented by the previous state government which was inclusive of any superannuation increases. The wage cap will be abolished on 1 September this year.”
In addition to the pay increase and the end of the wage cap, an Industrial Relations Taskforce has been established to review the process of determining Public Sector salaries and consider changes to the industrial relations system.
“Thanks to PSA campaigning, the Government has ruled out further privatisations and moved thousands of employees in insecure roles to permanent positions, particularly in the state’s schools,” said Mr Little.
“The PSA is pushing other parts of the Public Sector to decrease their reliance on insecure roles and contract labour.
“The PSA and state government are in negotiations over getting rid of the inefficient and unfair Government Sector Employment Act,” he said.
