The following comment can be attributed to Stewart Little, general secretary of the Public Service Association:

“Today’s decision is extraordinarily disappointing for our members.

“More than 60 percent of our members are women, many of them are on medium to low incomes and the sole earners for their families, and many live in regional NSW. This will hurt them.

“They are prison officers, teachers’ aides, park rangers, social workers and the public health heroes who have contained coronavirus. They haven’t stopped working to keep our state safe, and they do deserve a pay rise.

“The most powerful economic stimulus for the NSW Government is its own workforce.

“It must offer certainty to its workforce, and the wider economy by guaranteeing existing jobs and adding new ones.

“NSW government must guarantee not a single job will be lost during this period.

“You can’t cut your way to growth. NSW needs to guarantee existing public sector jobs and then employ more people.”

Enquiries: Suze Metherell 0412 867 084