MICK KELLY President
The three Rs our members need, want and demand REMUNERATION. RESOURCES. RESPITE. They’re the three Rs about which the delegates at our P&N Bank-sponsored 85th Annual Conference spoke most frequently, most fervidly and most forcefully. They’re the three Rs that’ll permeate the log of claims we’ll develop ahead of the first round of bargaining talks about a new industrial agreement. They’re the three Rs our members need, want and demand. Good annual conferences set good agendas for the subsequent 12 months. They provide clarity as to what matters. Our conference did just that. The message is clear: our members need, want and demand more remuneration, more resources and more respite. Less than three weeks after our annual conference rose, the McGowan Government unveiled its new public sector wages policy following on from its 2021-22 state budget. The government’s two-year policy offers our members a 2.5% wage increase annually and the choice by industrial agreement of a one-off $1,000 payment or an extra 0.25% annually for negotiated reforms. Additionally, the government has developed a new, broader framework that’ll allow us and other unions to discuss a wider range of workplace issues.
One need only browse the industrial agreements of other WA public sector workers, particularly those in the emergency services sphere, to note significant disparities between their shift penalties, overtime rates and allowances and those of our members. Our members are getting a raw deal compared to other emergency service providers.
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The McGowan Government is wedded to its public sector wages policy, and unfortunately, it may be an immovable object for us and our fellow unions in the short term. The government will likely argue it can’t afford to dig deeper into its pockets for all WA’s public sector employees and its two slightly different offers exceed wage growth in the state’s private sector. Fortunately, there’s more to remuneration than an across-the-board pay rise at a rate that’s below what several annual conference motions directed us for which to lobby. Annual conference delegates devoted much airtime to shift penalties, overtime rates and on-call allowances. They’re three of the remuneration topics around which we should be able to prosecute cases capable of not only influencing the powers that be but also striking a chord with the people whom we serve. The Productivity Commission 2022 Report on Government Services included a key finding that, for the second year in a row, the WA Police Force had Australia’s highest satisfaction rating from people who’d experienced contact with the agency. It’s crucial we engage with the public. The public value our members. The public wouldn’t swap places with our members. The public elect the powers that be, at least those answerable at the ballot box, who remunerate our members. One need only browse the industrial agreements of other WA public sector workers, particularly those in the emergency services sphere, to note significant disparities between their shift penalties, overtime rates and allowances and those of our members. Our members are getting a raw deal compared to other emergency service providers.
