Unions ready for redundancy war

    by: KATHRYN SHINE
    From: The Australian
    June 14, 2013


UNIONS have warned the Barnett government to prepare for a surge in industrial action after it moved to axe 1200 public sector jobs and place a cap on wages.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said yesterday the government would offer 1000 voluntary redundancies and force up to 200 staff to leave.    

Public sector wages, which have been growing at 8.6 per cent a year, would be capped in line with inflation.The measures could save the government up to $2 billion over the next four years.

The move is aimed at avoiding a budget deficit this year in the wake of weaker commodity prices and the end of the state's mining investment boom.

Mr Barnett also announced legislation would be changed to ensure the WA Industrial Relations Commission was guided by the state's new wages policy when making its decisions.

Community and Public Sector Union branch secretary Toni Walkington warned that "removing the role of the independent umpire" would lead to more industrial action across the sector. "The government is not interested in bargaining and negotiating with its workforce," she said. "The only tool available will be industrial action."    


Australian Nursing Federation state secretary Mark Olson agreed the government would face major industrial disruption if it refused to negotiate on wage increases. "They ask for flexibility from unions but the government has to be flexible too." The government employs 150,000 staff across more than 100 agencies.

Mr Barnett said it was hoped 1000 staff would take voluntary redundancies and up to 200 would be forced to leave.

"This is the correct decision for the economic circumstances we find ourselves in," he said.

Treasurer Troy Buswell said the measures were some of the most significant and fundamental reforms in the history of the state's public sector.

He said they were necessary to avoid the government having to slash thousands of public sector jobs as had happened with the Newman government in Queensland.

"We are not going to do that," he said. "We are responding sensibly . . . to the circumstances that we find ourselves in."

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said Mr Barnett had broken a promise made last September that no public sector jobs would be lost.    

"These cuts will have a direct impact on our schools, hospitals and police. No frontline service will be protected from the Barnett axe," Mr McGowan said.      

He said Mr Barnett was a hypocrite for giving his own staff a 52 per cent pay increase while limiting public servants to an increase in line with the CPI.   

The WA Chamber of Commerce welcomed the reforms.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said Mr Barnett had broken a promise made last September that no public sector jobs would be lost.      

I dont think there is widespread support in the community for public servants at the moment.

Why can't public servants look out of the window in the morning??

Because then they'd have nothing to do in the afternoon.

The public service should be a minimum wage.. nothing more..  To have the public service as a free ride with higher then private sector wages creates skill shortages, because why would anyone improve there skills when they can just get a do nothing high pay government job.