PSA members working for the Office of the Sheriff have voted to accept the State Government’s three-year Salaries offer, in addition to grade reclassifications as recommended by the Mercer Report.

Ninety-one per cent of respondents to our Salaries Survey accepted the government’s offer and the PSA will now notify the government of our acceptance and move to have the new rates formalised so members receive the increase as soon as possible.

The offer can only be paid once the Memoradum of Understanding is signed and the Awards are altered and signed off by the Industrial Relations Commission.

The offer

• 3 per cent 2024-2025 increase in salaries plus 0.5 per cent superannuation
• 3 per cent 2025-2026 increase in salaries plus 0.5 per cent superannuation
• 3 per cent 2026-2027 increase in salaries

This offer will be backdated to the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2024.

The offer includes a safeguard mechanism to protect wage-earners if the Sydney Consumer Price Index exceeds 3.5 per cent (March quarter) in the second or third year of the deal. If this is the case, there will be negotiations for a one-off, non-cumulative, cost-of-living allowance (COLA).

If the Sydney Consumer Price Index exceeds 4 per cent (March quarter) in the second or third year, members will receive a $1,000 taxable, one-off, non-cumulative cost-of-living adjustment payment, plus superannuation.

As part of the offer, the PSA will negotiate changes to the Managing Excess Employees (MEE) policy to bring it into line with the new Workforce Mobility Placement (WMP) policy implemented late last year. This has seen great improvements in the retention of public servants affected by workplace change.

In addition, grade reclassifications will require variations to the Sheriff’s Award, including the following changes:

• Uplifting the current grade scale of a Sheriff’s Officer from Grade 1/2 to Grade 3/4
• Uplifting the current grade scale of a Sergeant from Grade 3/4 to Grade 5/6
• Uplifting the current grade scale of an Inspector from Grade 5 to Grade 7
• Uplifting the current grade scale of a Chief Inspector from Grade 6 to Grade 8
• Uplifting the current grade scale of a Superintendent from Grade 7/8 under Crown Employees (Administrative and Clerical Officers – Salaries) Award 2007 (A&C Award) to Grade 9 of the Crown Employees (Sheriff’s Officers) Award 2009
• Uplifting the current grade scale of a Chief Superintendent from Grade 9/10 under the A&C Award to Grade 10 of the Crown Employees (Sheriff’s Officers) Award 2009
• Uplifting the current applicable Sergeants to a new Senior Sergeant Grade aligned to Common Salary Point 86 in the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2022) Award

The PSA will now meet with the State Government to formalise the pay increase and grade reclassifications.

The Government’s proposed changes to grading come after years of campaigning by your union, the PSA, culminating in the Undervalued Understaffed Underpaid campaign this year, which received considerable media attention statewide.

These improvements to your wages and conditions prove there is power in a union.