ACT Government workers rally in Civic Square in support of their pay claim. Photos: Ian Bushnell.
Hundreds of ACT Public Service workers from across the Territory converged on Civic Square today for a lunchtime May Day march and rally in support of their pay claim, which has dragged on for months since bargaining began last August.
The rally comes as they continue voting on whether to take protected industrial action, including strikes and work bans, as the ACT Government continues to resist the claim for a 12 per cent increase over three years.
The CPSU is seeking an initial 5 per cent rise, followed by 4 per cent and 3 per cent, plus top-ups if the Consumer Price Index is higher.
The government had initially offered 7.5 per cent over three years, but in March upped that to 9 per cent, or 3 per cent a year, but it also delayed the superannuation rise to 13 per cent until July 2028 instead of January 2028.
Voting on the protected action closes on 7 May.
CPSU ACT secretary Maddy Northam said that, with the CPI at 4.6 per cent, workers faced an effective wage cut amid a cost-of-living crisis under the government’s offer.
The government argues the offer is all that it can afford, especially with the state of the Budget, but Ms Northam said it had options to find the money.
These included reducing the amount of labor hiring contractors, cutting the use of executive recruitment firms that cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and reprioritising spending.
“Our members have to put food on the table for their families, their bills are going up, and the government, a Labor government, is trying to send their wages down,” she said.
Workers from across government services joined the rally.
Ms Northam said the delayed superannuation rise and the use of artificial intelligence were also sticking points.
She said the government initially had nothing on AI in the enterprise agreement, and then only proposed a motherhood statement.
“Our members are looking for a lot more protection than that, and it’s not about saying no to artificial intelligence,” Ms Northam said.
“There is a place for it, but it can’t be about replacing workers who are doing really important jobs for the community because we know that it makes mistakes.”
If it came to industrial action, the union was focused on actions that hurt the government more than the public, such as bans on electronic payments in hospitals, but they could be felt across a broad range of areas and the health system.
Staff are voting on two protected action ballots, the Health Professions Enterprise Agreement and the Administrative and Related Classifications Enterprise Agreement.
Ms Northam said the proposed protected action covered a wide variety of workers, including back-end policy staff delivering on government commitments, Access Canberra staff, non-correctional staff out at the Alexander McConachie Centre, some firefighters and health professionals.
“Our members are so committed to their jobs, they don’t want to be taking strike action if they can avoid it,” she said.
“They just feel like there’s no other option at this stage.”
The government’s offer of increased leave entitlements remained in place.
Negotiations have been taking place twice a week with the next meeting in the Fair Work Commission on 6 May.
Public school teachers are also voting to take protected action over their pay claim.
