'It hits the right balance'
The New South Wales government had recently announced that it would raise the public sector wage gap to three percent this financial year, as HRD previously reported.
The new wage would cover public sector employees, including nurses, teachers, and paramedics, with state Treasurer Matt Kean calling it “an affordable and sensible policy,” but how did the private sector react to the state’s announcement?
Different employers and businesses represented by Business NSW have commended the state government’s decision, saying it has “hit the right balance with its 3% pay increase offering to public sector employees, rising to 3.5% next year contingent on productivity measures being met.”
In a media release, the group called it “a fiscally responsible move, and one the business community across the state supports,” Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter said.
The group has also said that the move aligns with its submission to the Fair Work Commission on the Annual Wage Review. It noted that for private-sector workers, it recommended a 2.5% to 3% rise in the minimum wage.
“There is no bottomless pit of money, and the government has to balance the very legitimate claims of increased pay for these workers with the overriding need to ensure debt levels do not constrain government’s options for use of taxpayer funds for future generations,” Hunter said.
It could be recalled that Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope said that the state’s pay rise aims “to deliver the best public services, as the government hopes that the additional pay increases make way “for workplace reforms that deliver better outcomes for the public – a win for workers and the community,” Tudehope said.
Business NSW reportedly supports the same goal in driving the state’s economy forward. “We all understand the rising cost of living, and no one wants to see front-line public sector workers leave their industries in the search for higher wages, but it’s in all our interests to avoid further industrial action, especially during this challenging global environment,” Hunter said.
He also highlighted that the increase would promote workforce stability. “Strikes, or even the threat of strikes harms the entire community, and while there are valid points to be made about workplace conditions, inconveniencing the broader population, particularly smaller business who need to close down for the day, is incredibly challenging,” Hunter added.
