Proposed bill would strip public sector workers’ collective bargaining rights in New South Wales, Australia

Proposed bill would strip public sector workers’ collective bargaining rights in New South Wales, Australia

The collective bargaining rights of tens of thousands of public sector workers in New South Wales, Australia are under serious threat if the State Government's proposed industrial relations laws are imposed.

The Industrial Relations Amendment (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Bill, if passed, would give the State Government unilateral power to set the wages and conditions of public sector workers.This means the government could freeze or cut wages and could also cut penalty rates, shift allowances, maternity leave payments, redundancy payments and other entitlements without public sector employees having any redress to an independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission.

If the government cuts public workers' wages, these workers will have little recourse.

Under the proposed bill:

If public sector workers went on strike for better pay, the strike could be stopped by the Commission.
If public sector workers wanted to bargain with the government for better pay, the government could simply refuse to bargain. There is no obligation to bargain in good faith.
Public sector workers in NSW keep public services running. They are not just frontline workers like police, fire fighters, nurses, public transport staff, utility employees, but the tens of thousands of government workers who back them up.

They need your support.

Public Services International has sent  this letter of protest to the Premier, and we ask PSI affiliates to send a similar letter immediately.

Please also send messages of solidarity (download a model letter here) to NSW unions:

Public Service Association of NSW General Secretary John Cahill  jcahill@psa.asn.au
Public Service Association of NSW President Sue Walsh swalsh@psa.asn.au
David Carey, Federal Secretary State Public Services Federation  dcarey@spsf.asn.au 
Mark Lennon,  Secretary of Unions NSW mlennon@unionsnsw.org.au
And copy to rights@world-psi.org
For more information about the campaign, including a petition to circulate, go to: http://www.unionsnsw.org.au/content/public-sector-industrial-relati...

PSI members will also hold a rally outside NSW Parliament House on Wednesday 15 June at 12.15pm.