As members would be aware from our previous bulletins, the PSA opposed Transport for NSW’s (TfNSW’s) applications for the TfNSW Awards and RMS Awards. Not only did their applications not reflect the PSA’s position of a fair pay increase for members, there was no back pay provided, and it did not contain the conditions we negotiated throughout the process.
As a result, last Thursday 28 July, the TfNSW and RMS Awards were arbitrated before the full bench of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC). The PSA appeared on behalf of members continuing to press for a pay increase which keeps up with the cost of living and for back pay to the first full pay period of 1 July 2022. Just prior to the arbitration TfNSW conceded to include the conditions which were hard fought throughout the negotiations.
The IRC’s full bench on Thursday, 28 July decided, restrained by the Government’s unfair and unjust wages policy, to award employees covered by the TfNSW and RMS Awards a three per cent pay rise (including superannuation). Included are increases to your conditions of employment.
The PSA and combined transport unions fought hard to have improved conditions included in the TfNSW Award and RMS Salaried Award. Make no mistake TfNSW resisted many of these improvements, including the back dating of your pay increase.
Improved conditions include:
- Provisions for gender-neutral parental leave. These provisions are reflective of the broader government position.
- Improved domestic violence leave. These provisions are reflective of the broader government position.
- Right to disconnect from work. A clause which was championed by the unions, it was not at the initiative of TfNSW.
- Harmonisation across both Awards, bringing better conditions from both.
- A plan for management of workloads and flex time, this includes the potential for flex hours that would otherwise be forfeited to be paid out. More information will be coming about this.
- Consultation on professional development and change management.
Public Sector Needs a Pay Rise
You may be wondering why the three per cent (including superannuation) was determined by the IRC. The reason for this decision is that the NSW Government did not accept the PSA’s broader pay claim and demand to scrap the wages policy that restricts the IRC from making Awards with a fair and reasonable pay increase. Rather, the Government implemented a temporary change to its wages policy over the next two years to award Public Sector employees a 2.53 per cent pay rise exclusive of superannuation. After the two years it will revert back to the paltry 2.5 per cent inclusive of superannuation that we have been dealing with since 2011.
The PSA’s Public Sector Needs a Pay Rise campaign continues.
Thursday’s decision proves the system is broken. The wages policy needs to change so workers can negotiate for better pay and conditions not limited by the arbitrary wages cap that has applied for more than a decade.
Queensland has just handed down a four per cent pay increase for its Public Sector employees, plus a bonus to keep up with inflation. This is proof that state governments can be more generous than the Perrottet Cabinet has been when awarding wage rises. This shows how little respect this government has for the workers who have steered the state through a succession of crises.
Rest assured, Thursday’s decision is not the end of this battle. Your union is not stopping, and our fight continues for a fair pay rise and an end to a wages policy that becomes more and more unjust with every passing year.
There are few workers in the country who get to stipulate who their employer is. However, our members will have just this opportunity in March 2023, when NSW elects its 58th Parliament. We hope, when they enter the polling booth, PSA members remember how they have been treated by the Government and vote accordingly.
Members’ meetings
The PSA has organised a number of meetings for members who may have further questions. Members are encouraged to attend whichever one of these meetings works best for them. Details are as follows:
Meeting #1
Date: Friday, 5 August 2022
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting #2
Date: Friday, 5 August 2022
Time: 1:00pm-2:00pm
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting #3
Monday, 8 August 2022
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting #4
Date: Tuesday, 9 August 2022
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting #5
Date: Tuesday, 9 August 2022
Time: 1:00pm-2:00pm
Click here to join the meeting