Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with CPSU Community & Public Sector Union NT Secretary Kay Densley

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Katie Woolf spoke with CPSU Community & Public Sector Union NT Secretary Kay Densley · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Because we know the situation with plans for a public
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: service wage free seem to be at a bit of
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: a standstill, with the territory public servants overwhelmingly rejecting a
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: paying conditions offer from the Commissioner for Public Employment that
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: would see they're wages frozen for four years. Now. Joining
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: me on the show is well from the CPSU, the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Community and Public Sector Union, the secretary Ka Densley, Good
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: morning to UK.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Kay.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: I understand ninety eight percent of those surveyed members had
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: voted to reject the government's terms. Is that the case?
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: That's certainly correct, and we've written through to the Commissioner
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: and outlined quite a number of issues that members raised.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: We also included the comments that people made in the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: survey results. There's thirty eight pages of them and it's
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: quite distressing reading them. So I think that the Commissioner
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: has had allowed out and clear message about this.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Okay, how many people took part in the survey, Ah,
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: there was more.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Than half our members who did that. I would like
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: to point out that we're not the only union involved
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: in the NTPs bargaining, so we've also got a United Workers'
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Union ETU the nurses, teachers, et cetera. Some of them
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: have their own agreements, but they're all under the wages policy,
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: which is doing nothing really for four years.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: So half of the members just to give our listeners
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: a bit of an idea of you know, how many
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: people that is, is it sort of one hundred two hundred.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: No, it's a lot more than that. And it's a
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: lot of public servants. Yep.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Now, okay, what exactly do they not agree on when
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: it comes to this, you know, to what's been put forward.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: Are their comments obviously about you know, the four year
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: length of the agreement. We don't know what's going to happen.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: We're always hearing that we're the comeback capitals and that
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: the economy is burning et cetera, et cetera, and we're
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: growing fast and everywhere else. But you know, CPI six
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: point one percent last quarter. We know that rates have
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: gone up, we know that rents have gone up, et cetera,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: et cetera. So the comments are coming back about effects
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: on their super the issues with them keeping up with
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: the cost of living, and you know, there's and also
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: because some of their conditions are not secured in the agreement,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: so they do refuse to put some of the things
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: that they've already got into an agreement to lock that
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: in for the length of the agreement. So that's things
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: like remote localities and travel allow Okay.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Does this agreement include like our you know, our police
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: officers and our nurses at the hospital and that kind
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: of thing as well.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: I know they have their own agreements, but they're still
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: bound by this wages policy. So the Chief Minister slash
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Treasurer has concocted the wages Policy, which basically says no
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: pay rise and four year agreements and a thousand dollars
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: bonus which is taxable and which actually comes out of
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: agency budgets. So they put that. You know, that wasn't
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: announced publicly, but it's very clear in the last budget,
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: pavisit that's what happened. So people are being able to
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: do more with less, and you know, if this goes
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: for four years, that'll be even moorse Okay.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: I know that there's going to be so many people
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: that work in the private sector this morning who are
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: feeling a bit upset upon hearing this. You know, there's
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: still one thousand dollars annual bonus. Many in the private
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: sector don't even get that. In fact, some have had
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: their hours cut and continue to suffer the impact of lockdowns.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: And indeed, COVID, why do public servants deserve a wage
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: increase greater than one thousand dollars for these four years?
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: Well, some of them, some of those people, and you know,
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: we don't like to see anyone out of work. And
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: in the NT we've been luckier than than majority of states,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: and so yeah, that's good. And that's also thanks to
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: our public service for keeping a safe during the last
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: year and a half at least. So some of them
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: are probably married or partnered to a public servant that's
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: actually going to keep them going and be able to
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: stay in the territory. So we've got a large percentage
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: of our population is actually employed by the government and
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: you know, therefore they're able to support the local community.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: So you know, if we're talking about people who are
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: in small business or in you know, other types of
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: local businesses, it's the public service workers who are getting
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: paid who were able to keep them going and have
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: done you know over the last year and a half,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: especially with lockdowns et cetera.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Okay, a message come through on the tech line. It
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: says Gunner and co. Have destroyed the Northern Territory economy
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: and now they're trying to make the public service pay
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: for it. Do you think that's fair.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: I think it's very fair, and you know he won't
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: talk to us about it. You know what, we wanted
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: to compromise and there must be a way forward that
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: our members would would like. So four years is too long.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: We've asked for two. You know that there needs to
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: be some sort of humulive pay rise. So I think
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: that our members would consider a change in the pay
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: policy as well as some other factors which we've outlined
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: to them. And you know, this is going to have
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: really long term effects, especially people who are nearing retirement
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: about this superannuation and even young people. You're never going
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: to catch up with your superannuation. So I think that
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: they need to be reasonable and they need to talk
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: to us.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Okay, what kind of public servant jobs are we talking
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: about here?
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Oh, we talk about everything. So the wages policy actually
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: affects or the nurses and teachers which have their own agreement,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: the police, and we've heard about you know how many
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: of them are thinking about leaving power water and Jacana
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: employers who have just rejected their offer as well. We've
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: got the contract traces, the policy people, we've got the
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: frontline workers in how they child protection. There's a huge
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: array of staff in here and we need them and
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: they're the ones that keep territories safe and the whole
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: place running. And they're they're working hard, they're working longer
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: hours than they are paid for in many cases.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: And this is the way here that they've said that
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: they've said thanks to them. So it's pretty rude.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Okay, where is this going to land? I mean you
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: said then that the Chief Minister hasn't met with you.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Where's this going to all Land?
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Well, we're still in negotiations. The Commissioner gave revised offers
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: to Dacana and power Water, which was also rejected by
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: the members, and we're waiting to see with the NTPs
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: agreement about whether or not we'll get a revised offer
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: or not. I think ultimately you members are going to
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: have to go know to this to make the government
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: wake up. So some of the comments in here is
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: about how much waste as money thereas around the place,
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: and they see it all the time, and you know
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: they're the ones now that are being asked to pay
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: for it. So I think that there'll be a strong
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: no vote and then I have to come back to
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: the table. So we could avoid all that, you know,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: if we just had a fair sit down and talk
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: and reassess the offer to make sure that people weren't
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: worth off by living and working here.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Okay, I know before the last lockdown there had been
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: a bit of a rally or a bit of a
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: march planned by our public servants to really get the
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: message across to our politicians. That obviously couldn't happen because
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: of that that lockdown. But is that on the cards again?
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Oh, it certainly is. And we've had some barbecues that planned,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: one at the hospital et cetera, and some more planned.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: And the rally will be on on Tuesday, the twenty
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: first of September again, will be from twelve to six
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: near Parliament House, so government are actually sitting that day.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: So if there's no lockdown, which we all hope for kating,
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: then we're hoping that public service will be coming and
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: going all day in their break so if they're off
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: work or shift workers, et cetera, or after work and
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: come out and show the government exactly what their what
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: they're feeling about their offer.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Okay, what is your final message for the Chief Minister
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: this morning?
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: I think Chief Minister that you need to appreciate what
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: your public service does. So the Chief Minister claims credit for,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: you know, keeping us safe, but it's actually all those
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: people out there who are keeping us safe, you know,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: every day and twenty four hours, even in the quarantine centers,
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: et cetera, and the board. So I think he needs
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: to come to the table and put a fair offer
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: on the table so that people's wages don't go backwards.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Well, CPSU Secretary Kay Densley, I always appreciate your time.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for speaking with us today.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: No worries, Katie, and I'm hoping to see you at
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: the rally on the twenty first.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: On the twenty first, we'll remind us when it is
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: on and we'll make sure that our listeners know. You know,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: I know that there's very much a bit of division
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: in the community on this, some people feeling a little
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: bit like it's unfair that public servants, you know, I
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: still get a wage freeze when they haven't been able
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: to get one. But then on the other side, of it.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: You know, we want our public servants to stay here
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory, which is obviously a sticking point, yes.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Exactly, and we also want people here to have money
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: to spend for local businesses and local communities. So you know,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: public servants kids go to school and preschool and a
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: shop in the local shops, et cetera, et cetera. So
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: you know, we to build the economy back up and
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: be a part of that, but we can't do that
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: without fair wages.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Kate, thank you for your time today. We'll talk to
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: you again soon.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you.