Health workers in New South Wales (NSW) have called off plans for industrial action after the state government struck a deal with the Health Services Union (HSU), raising wages by four percent.
The deal will see a pay increase of up to 8.5 percent, or $3,500 (US$2,323), for the state’s lowest-paid health workers and will also cover cleaners, hospital clerks, and allied health professionals.
The deal will not apply to doctors and nurses.
Meanwhile, the state government’s four percent deal will apply to paramedics, who are reported to be seeking parity with their interstate counterparts when they meet with the government in nine days.
The government has also offered all public sector workers a four percent raise, backdated to July 1.
The deal, which is worth $18 million, means eligible workers will get approximately $10 extra a week.
However, the deal has yet to be confirmed with HSU members, who will vote on July 10 on whether to accept the offer or whether to proceed with industrial action.
HSU’s secretary, Gerard Hayes, said the government’s offer was good news for the lowest-paid health workers.
“This is an amazing day to get 8.5 percent,” Mr. Hayes said. “It’s literally the difference between buying bread or buying milk or not being able to buy both.”
Mr. Hayes added that health workers “put their lives on the line” to protect the public.
“The least they deserve is a decent pay rise,“ Mr. Hayes said. ”They will carefully consider this offer over the coming weeks.”
“This goes into their salary, their overtime, their shift penalties, everything gets built on top of that.”
Moreover, the new offer includes an increase in the salary packaging workers can keep, from 10 percent to 60 percent. However, HSU has sought 100 percent.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF)—the union representing NSW doctors—has voted in favour of the four percent pay rise.
NSW Treasurer Heckled by Union Members
On July 3, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey was heckled at an HSU conference over the pay dispute.Mr. Mookhey was told that a below-inflation pay increase would not cover the cost of living pressures faced by workers in the health sector.
“When we’re seeing interest rates going up, cost of living … still well and truly about four percent, we need to do better, and we need to do more,” Mr. Hayes said on July 3.
The state opposition has criticised the state government’s impasse, with the union saying that it came from the “huge” pay promises NSW Labor made in the lead-up to the March election.
The Minns government had promised to abolish the public sector wage cap and provide workers with a minimum 3.5 percent pay rise.
“If unions threaten to go on strike, then (Premier) Chris Minns will just throw money at them to make the problem go away,” shadow treasurer Matt Kean told reporters on July 7.
