PSA News – 20 June 2014
Your Pay Your Say update
Firstly, thank you to the thousands of members who took part in our “Your Pay Your Say” survey.
Your views helped shape the PSA’s position in the 2014 wage case negotiations.
The PSA along with other public sector unions and the State Government were before the Industrial Relations Commission on 17 June to conciliate (settle) all of the award applications involved.
Following the conciliation, the only outstanding matter to be decided is whether the salaries awards are to contain a “no extra claims” clause. Unions will not agree to this. The State Government will argue before the Industrial Relations Commission on 24 June that any awards should contain a “no extra claims” clause as was recently inserted in the RMS award.
The PSA, other unions and the State Government have agreed to the following:
- The Government will consent to an increase in wages, salaries and allowances by 2.27 percent on and from 1 July 2014.
- If the unions continue with a High Court challenge of the State Government’s recent Supreme Court decision and that challenge is unsuccessful, the SANCS Act will be enacted so members of the Defined Benefits Schemes have the 0.25 percent increase in superannuation paid into a separate employer contribution account from the first full pay period after 1 July 2013 along with a further 0.25% increase from the first full pay period after 1 July 2014. This provides these members with the same increase in super (0.25%) that has been paid to those in First State from those respective dates. It is this amount (0.25%) which the State Government successfully put to the Supreme Court arguing it should be discounted from the 2.5% salary increase.
- While the awards will be varied to reflect the outcome of any proceedings from the first full pay period after 1 July 2014, the State Government reserve the right to argue that the increase may be less than 0.23% already discounted based on factors such its “ability to pay” and other economic considerations.
The PSA and other public sector unions are now deciding whether to continue with their application to appeal to the High Court.
A meeting of the union Secretaries to decide on this issue will be held on Monday 23 June.
