WORKERS DEMAND BETTER CONDITIONS – IT’S GREAT TO SEE!
I am sure that by now the people of NSW are well aware of the wider industrial action being taken by many of our public service workers.
It may come as a surprise but personally I am very happy to see this action and to watch the negotiations play out. This is after-all one of the true successes of the new NSW Government.
You see, under the regime of the previous NSW Government, public servants, by decree, were awarded a flat 2.5% pay increase each year – except the COVID year when they were told they would get 0% (which was later revised to 0.3%). There was no avenue for negotiation.
One of the most profound commitments made by the new incoming Government was to get rid of that unfair wages cap and to re-establish the industrial relations commission. By design, this was intended to set up the rules and conditions for a few battles about wages and work conditions.
Some people have made the comment to me that this new NSW Government must have really upset some of the Unions and workforce groups because there is so much outcry from the workers.
My reply is simple – we should embrace the rage of the workers because for the previous 12 years they have been sat in the corner, gagged and only very occasionally patted on the head.
While I extend my very best wishes to all of the workers that are taking action to get a better deal, the truth is that the NSW Budget has been left in terrible condition by the previous Government, and it is certain that you, as a worker, won’t get everything that you want or ask for.
The ongoing right for workers to take action against their employer has been at the foundation of the employment conditions in this country. The quality of life in our wonderful part of the world is the envy of so many other nations.
I celebrate yet again the incredible work of our public servants and I acknowledge the reality that it is upon their work that our society takes its shape. We are indeed a lucky country.