The lowest-paid health workers in New South Wales could get a pay increase of up to 8.5% under a new state government offer intended to head off threatened industrial action.
The proposal comes after the Health Services Union (HSU) gave the Minns government until Friday to offer a new pay deal, after its members voted to rebuke Labor’s promise to increase public sector wages by 4%.
The government offered to increase the base salary of the union’s members – which does not cover nurses and doctors – by $3,500. The offer also includes a lifting of the proportion of salary-packaging entitlements that workers can receive, from 50% to 60%.
The HSU secretary, Gerard Hayes, said 60% of its workers would be better off under the new offer, resulting in a 4.5% to 8.5% pay increase.
Security guards and hospital cleaning staff who earn between $50,000 and $55,000 were likely to receive the 8.5% increase under the revised offer, he said.
“This is an amazing day to get 8.5%,” he said. “It’s literally the difference between buying bread or buying milk, or not being able to buy both.
“This goes into their salary, their overtime, their shift penalties, everything gets built on top of that.”
Earlier this week the NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, was heckled at a HSU conference over the proposed 4% pay increase, with health workers claiming the rise would not cover the rising cost of living.
On Wednesday the union threatened to escalate industrial action from Monday if the government did not meet its terms for either a 6.5% pay increase, inclusive of super; or a flat increase to base rates and for health workers to get the full benefit of salary packaging.
Members will vote on Monday whether to halt industrial action while they consider the new offer.
Hayes implored the union’s members who earn upwards of $150,000 and would not be better off under the deal to “do me a favour”.
“Help me look after these people who are struggling. I know we’re all struggling, but some of these people are struggling more than others, so I’m asking our membership for some compassion,” he said.
But Hayes said the government’s offer to increase salary packaging benefits for workers – which would equate to an extra $10 a week after tax – did not go far enough. He said he would be meeting with the government over the weekend in a bid to increase this further and to set a timeframe for it to hit 100%.
Paramedics will not be covered by the new offer as they seek their own bid under a professional rates claim to have their wages brought on par with other states. Hayes said this could be anywhere from a 30% to 45% pay increase.
“We seek to be competitive with other states. I think it’s outrageous that we train people up for other states to get the benefit,” he said.
The NSW opposition’s health spokesperson, Matt Kean, criticised the government for setting a “dangerous precedent” of “throwing money” at unions when they threaten to go on strike.
“That’s going to be paid for by someone and I fear it’s the families of NSW that are going to have cost of living measures ripped away from them,” he said.
