The Western Australian (WA) Labor government has ended its public sector-wide wages policy, putting A$2.8 billion (US$1.89 billion) on the table in a bid to allow public workers to renegotiate for higher pay raises and improved conditions.
Under the new policy, the government will dismantle the fixed pay rise for more than 140,000 public sector workers and instead allow them to bargain with individual public sector unions.
The policy is expected to prioritise bargaining outcomes that lift public sector performance as well as support longer-term attraction and retention of public sector workers.
Speaking on Dec. 18, a day before the mid-year budget review, WA Premier Roger Cook said the new approach would provide flexibility in bargaining to address “the industrial issues most important to the state’s public sector workforce.”
“It will deliver fair but financially sustainable wage increases and conditions of employment, that are reasonable in the context of each negotiation,” Mr. Cook said.
“We are keen to deliver fair wage outcomes and appropriate conditions to the important workforces in our public sector, and have been able to back this up with significant funding allocated to future negotiations.”
The announcement came after intense scrutiny from the unions for the state’s restrictive wage settings for government workers, a hallmark of the Labor government since being elected in 2017.
In late 2021, former premier Mark McGowan proposed that public sector workers could either receive a 2.5 percent pay rise for two years, along with a A$1,000 (US$672) cash bonus, or a 2.75 percent raise across two years.
Following fierce criticism from unions that the amount was inadequate, Mr. McGowan offered to pay public sector workers earning less than $104,000 a year an extra $60 per week plus a one-off $3,000 bonus. Meanwhile, workers earning over $104,000 would get a 3 percent annual pay rise and a $3,000 sign-on bonus.
Most unions signed the agreement except the nurses’ union. The latest change will not affect negations under the older policy.
The new policy will apply to negotiations for all enterprise agreements that expired on or after Oct. 1, 2023.
Additionally, a focused training program to boost the capability of the WA public sector is underway. This is expected to be “the biggest capability lift the public sector has ever had and help to ensure an integrated focus on training,” the Cook government said.
WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti said the goal is to increase the size of the public sector workforce while also bringing privatised services back to the government.
“We’re in a position to do this because of our strong financial management, which has long been a priority and hallmark of our government,” she said.
“We continue to engage positively with all unions and work towards settlements of outstanding negotiations.”
