Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / The CPSU's NT Secretary Kay Densley has welcomed the NT Government’s pay rise offer but expects it won’t be enough for some workers

Transcript

The CPSU's NT Secretary Kay Densley has welcomed the NT Government’s pay rise offer but expects it won’t be enough for some workers · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The government's had a change of heart when it comes
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: to the wage freeze. And joining me on the line
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: is the CPSU's NT Regional secretary k Densely. Good morning
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to u Ky.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Kay. What was your reaction to the backflip on the
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: wage freeze.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, it's very welcome. It's been over two years
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: now where this has been here sort of hanging like
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: a dagger over public service heads. So with the cost
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: of living rising, interest rates, petrol prices, the whole thing,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: people who are who are actually under the pay freeze
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: are really struggling. So this is a really welcome step
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: and you know it's a good.
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: Start, Kay.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: From your perspective, does this mean that every Northern Territory
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: public servant is going to be getting an increase in.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Pay, Well, there's still a lot of workers who are
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: bargaining and also a lot of workers who are taken
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: industrial action. So obviously this only happened yesterday and they'll
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: be talking to their members. But from what I understand,
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: two percent really isn't going to cut it, So that's
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: up to obviously their members about how that how that goes,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: and they'll negotiate it a fair pay increase. So but
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: at least now they have a chance to have a compounded.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Pay increase, so so that's.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Really good us, something that goes into their super as
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: far as the general agreement goes. And Jacana, they've they've
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: accepted the pay frees unfortunately, and so they're into their
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: second year over pay frees and our members are really hurting.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: We've been surveying them lately. You know, they're cutting back
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: on spending money on essentials, un't able to commit to
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: major purchases. There is a clause in the agreement which
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: says that any favorable changes to the wages policy will
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: flow over to them. So now we have to start
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: talking to our members, which we'll be doing over the
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: next couple of weeks, and talk to government about how
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: they can actually get a.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Pay rise that goes into their super and improves.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Their retirement income and also you know.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Adds to their salary.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: Instead of a love sum payment.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: So okay, what happens next? You know, where does the
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: union now go when it comes to those negotiations.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: I think it's up to its union members. So you've
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: got teachers, correctional officers, firefighters, power, water and charity generation
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: at the moment who are all watched and doing industrial actions.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: So it's up to their members whether or not.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: They do that.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Obviously, you know, we need to have improved offers in
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: writing about for those agreements. There's also an issue of
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: duration of the agreement four times. You know, I don't
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: think anyone's going to accept two percent for four years,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: and so it's really up to what is the offer
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: that people are going to get. So it's a matter
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: of wait and see what comes out.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Okay, does the union have any concerns about the impact
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: that this is going to have on the budget and
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: any potential reviews or slimming down from the government.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Wells the agreements that already have the taxable lumps on payments,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: they are already come.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: Out of agency budgets.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: So what that's done, obviously is you know.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: Create workloads.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: People are leaving because it's a lot more attractive in
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: other states for pay increases that here, and a lot
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: cheaper to live as well.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: So there's already a.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Lot of pressure in agencies on this. So what we
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: need to do is find something that's workable but adds
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: to this salary, adds to this super and you know,
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: sort of increases their ability to spend in the community.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: What impact do you think that this change is going
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: to have when it comes to the recruitment and retention
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: of some of those frontline staff as well in the territory.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: I mean, we've spoken at length about the impact that
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: it was having potentially on teachers. I spoke earlier in
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: the week about the impact potentially for police. What impact
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: do you think that this is going to have now
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: that the government's reverse the decision.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Well, without speaking for the teachers union, I know sort
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: of the next four to six weeks is very crucial
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: in teachers signing up to work here again next year.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: As I said, the pay rises in other.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: States are a lot more attractive than here, and you know,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: we know that our house prices, etc. And with interest
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: rates rising, you know, isn't really comparable to down south.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: So there's emergency to get the teachers agreement there. And
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: whether or not to percent will cut it, I'm unsure,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: and I actually don't think it will. So I think
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: that will be the concentration of the government to start with.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: And as for the other agencies and the other groups
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: of workers, it's up to them about.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: What they accept sounds like there's still quite a bit
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: of work to take place.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: Kay.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Do you think that this backflip from the government is
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: did I that it was embarrassing that it had to
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: get to this point.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: I think it was really smart and you know, overdue.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: So you will recall, Katie that Michael Gunner announce his papers.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: After the last election out of the blue.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Without consultation. It wasn't in the Langoland reports and he
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: just put it on and there was no talking term
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: about it. And I think with the new Chief minister
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: ship had that opportunity then to have a look at that.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: We have to realize that, you know, people need to
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: afford to live in the territory and stay here, and
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: they're leaving and they're choosing, you know, other places to live,
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: and our public service is the backbone of the territory
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: population and obviously you know, supports local businesses and local communities.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: So I think it's well overdue and I congratulate the
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: government caught making this change. As for the monetary value
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: of that and how we do it, that's that's a
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: large value that we're going to go through.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And is that a worry? I mean, do you
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: think that that is a concern because we are talking
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: about a massive heat here now to the Northern Territory budget.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, as I said, you know the love
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: some payments in the current agreements actually come out of
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: agency budgets. So that's something that we need to work
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: to about how we can get what will work. And
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: obviously there's some you know, industrials issues with that about
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: how we do it as in fair work rulings, et cetera.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: But how can we get compounded ongoing pay riss for
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: people to afford to live and well deserved for the
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: work that they do, and how can we do that
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: really quickly? And you know, the government isn't actually funding
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: the pay right the lump sums at the moment, and
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: I dare say they're not going to fund the pay
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: rise neither. So that's a bit a bit of conversation
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: that we need to have.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Okay, Densilly, no doubt we'll be talking again in the
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: very near future. I appreciate your time this morning. Thanks
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: for chatting with me.
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: No worries, Katie, have a good day to you too.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: Thank you