Your pay, your say
27 February 2015
The current É«ÀÇÉçÇøsalaries award applying to most members expires on 30 June 2015.
The É«ÀÇÉçÇøwrote to NSW Industrial Relations (NSWIR) on 12 December 2014 requesting the Government commence negotiations for a new salaries award to apply from 1 July 2015.
Read that letter HERE.
The É«ÀÇÉçÇøsought discussions so that a new award can be in place from 1 July as the Government’s industrial relations laws now make it very difficult to secure backpay for any award should agreement not be reached by 1 July 2015.
The Government replied on 14 January agreeing to meet to discuss a new award.
This meeting took place between the Government and É«ÀÇÉçÇørepresentatives on Thursday 5 February.
Following the meeting the É«ÀÇÉçÇøwrote to NSW IR on 10 February 2015 requesting that the Government consider a proposal for a one year award for 2.5 percent.
Read that letter HERE.
Members will recall that the É«ÀÇÉçÇøchallenged the Government’s wages policy all the way to the High Court.
We know from the outcome of this High Court case that 2.5 percent is the absolute maximum available without trade-offs paid for and delivered before further increases may be paid.
Today, (Friday 27 February) the Government responded to the É«ÀÇÉçÇøoffering a 2.5 percent wage increase for one year, the maximum that can be offered under the wages policy, without any trade offs.
Read that letter HERE.
The Abbott Government has suspended further increases to the Superannuation Guarantee Levy and therefore this year the 2.5 percent on offer will not be discounted by super increases as it was in the previous award.
The É«ÀÇÉçÇøseeks your endorsement of this salary offer so that we may proceed to reach agreement with the Government.
For the future, the É«ÀÇÉçÇøhas developed a wages strategy that includes the establishment of a Bargaining Council which will be made up of É«ÀÇÉçÇømembers from across the state.
This will assist with member engagement and input into ongoing negotiations with the Government for future awards.
Accepting this offer now for one year will allow that bargaining strategy to be put in place during the period of that award and ensure we can have a 2.5 percent increase available from 1 July of this year.
To have your say on whether you think the É«ÀÇÉçÇøshould accept the offer click to vote.
The poll on this issue will close on WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH at 5:00PM.
This short time frame is so that, if endorsed by members, we can have an agreement in place with the Government before it enters the caretaker period on 6 March.