Wage rises for Victorian MPs, wage caps for public sector workers
Sacrifices and difficult decisions need to be made and government spending needs to be cut to clear the Victorian government’s debt. That’s what Spring Street is telling us is required: budget cuts, an annual wage increase cap for public servants, and job losses.
Yet Premier Daniel Andrews is getting a $16,000 pay rise. In fact, from 1 July, all Victorian MPs will receive a 3.5 percent pay rise following the decision of Victoria’s Independent Remuneration Tribunal. It will boost the base salary to almost $200,000 and Andrews’ pay to more than $480,000—the highest of any premier in the country. On top of this is a travel allowance increase of $10,765—a jump of nearly 7 percent.
Contrast this with public sector workers, who have their wage increases restricted to just 3 percent per year on much more modest salaries. They are the public servants, nurses, teachers and firefighters and others making up 418,000 of Victoria’s 3.5 million-strong labour force.
Job cuts are already underway. The Age reports that the North Eastern Public Health Unit, which services 1.7 million people, informed one-third of its 90 staff members that they would not have a job at the end of June. This comes as they are taking on more responsibility for managing outbreaks of infectious diseases across the state.
The pay increase for Victorian MPs comes after the New South Wales government last month approved a pay freeze for MPs and top executives in the public service. Treasury estimates that it will save about $260 million over four years.
Andrews has ruled out a pay freeze for politicians. With the Victorian premier unyielding, public sector workers in NSW have shown how the wage cap, and the politicians outrageous pay claims, can be challenged.
Thousands of public servants went on strike across the state last year, protesting against the pay cap. Teachers, nurses and midwives also went on 24-hour strikes for higher pay.
The NSW government finally confirmed a one-off 4.5 percent wages boost to public sector workers, breaking the state’s 3 percent wage cap, a week after the pay freeze for top officials was announced.
The MP pay freeze also came the day before the Health Services Union planned a stop work to demand an urgent cost-of-living pay increase. A week later, paramedics went on a 24-hour strike demanding faster action on the NSW government’s promise to scrap the wages cap by the end of this year.
