The New South Wales public sector wage cap will be increased from 2.5% to 3% this financial year, and the state government announced plans to recruit 10,000 additional medical staff and give existing health workers $3,000 “appreciation” payments.
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, said the government would spend $4.5bn on a health workforce drive in an attempt to ease severe workforce issues in hospitals across the state.
He also announced plans to raise the public sector wage cap from 2.5% to 3% this financial year, and 3.5% the following year dependent on productivity gains.
“I believe it’s fair and responsible,” Perrottet said. “It balances competing challenges that we have as a state after what we’ve gone through over the last two years.”
The policy will apply to new industrial agreements struck from 1 July.
Teachers, nurses, transport workers and paramedics have all taken industrial action this year, with the state’s peak body representing public sector unions promising more frequent actions unless pay was increased increase in line with inflation – currently at 5.1%.
The NSW employee relations minister, Damien Tudehope, urged union bosses to halt planned industrial action in light of the wage cap boost, while acknowledging it was not in line with inflation.
“To all those who are advocating for industrial disputation, let’s talk about this because what we have done today, is in many respects, gone out and addressed the problems,” he said.
“I would call on all those in the union movement who have been advocating for industrial activity to pause, reflect and see that this represents a fair and responsible approach to wages policy.”
He explained a wage increase in line with inflation would cost the state about $5 billion over four years.
But union bosses have come out since the announcement to express their disappointment.
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the rise “adds insult to injury” while the secretary of Unions NSW, Mark Morey, said it was a “short-term fix to a long-term economic crisis”.
“Public sector workers are already thousands of dollars out of pocket and this policy bakes in further losses,” he said.
The premier also announced the “biggest boost in our health workforce in our state’s history and the largest in the country”.
“That’s more doctors and nurses, allied health professionals, paramedics … to ensure that wherever you are right across our great state – from the cities to the ‘burbs to the bush, you’ll have the best care.”
The government will attempt to hire more than three-quarters of the additional staff in the next 12 months to bring relief to pandemic-fatigued workers.
Perrottet today revealed existing health workers will receive $3,000 payments “for the sacrifices they have made over the last two years”, as well as an acknowledgment of a difficult flu season to come.
The treasurer, Matt Kean, explained healthcare employees had been specifically chosen for the one-off payments over other public sector workers to recognise the role they played “during the pandemic to keep us safe”.
People employed by NSW Health on 1 July will be eligible for the money.
The announcements come a day after the state government pledged $1.76bn for the state’s strained ambulance system, with a plan to employ more than 1,850 extra paramedics and build 30 stations.
