The NSW Industrial Relations Commission has ruled on the wages for more than 400,000 public sector workers
The salaries of more than 400,000 NSW public sector workers will increase by 0.3 per cent over the next 12 months, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission has ruled.
In a year of widespread pay cuts, stand downs, and redundancies across the corporate sector, a group of public sector unions were seeking a 2.5% increase in salary and salary-related allowances for their members.
The unions argued that NSW public sector workers should receive a 2.5% increase on economic grounds, citing the economic benefits of increased spending power of the workers.
But the government employers said that the cost savings of withholding the increase would bring greater economic benefits.
The employers told the Industrial Relations Commission that through “pausing” wages in the New South Wales public sector for the 2020-21 financial year, the government would save around $3 billion, which would have a greater impact on the NSW economy than increase in wages.
The cost savings will be placed in a new “Infrastructure and Job Acceleration Fund” which the government says will be used for “smaller, shovel-ready projects touching every corner of the state”.
The decision covers a range of workers including nurses and teachers.
Wages of NSW public sector workers had previously risen by 2.5 per cent per year.
