New South Wales Labor premier Chris Minns came to power after promising to scrap the coalition’s public sector pay freeze. After less than five months, he has spectacularly broken his promise — and offered what amounts to a pay cut.
During its 2023 state election campaign, New South Wales (NSW) Labor committed to abolishing the state’s wage cap, which has depressed the pay packets of public sector employees such as public-school teachers, nurses, and transport workers since 2011. After ousting the Liberal-National Coalition government, NSW Labor built on the goodwill it had generated among teachers by immediately commencing negotiations with the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) over a new agreement.
By May 31 this year, the union and NSW government had all but signed off on a suite of improvements for teachers and, by implication, students. These included reforms to how casual, temporary, and permanent teachers are paid as well as an increase to paid time out of class, to allow teachers to complete planning, programming, assessments, reporting, and other important work. The new enterprise agreement would also have scrapped the wage cap by granting a pay raise, which, for salaried teachers, would have amounted to between 8 and 12 percent, depending on position and years of experience. Teachers in NSW seemed set to win an above-inflation salary increase, making them the highest-paid teachers in the country.
On June 22, the NSW Department of Education reaffirmed the agreement, which was set to commence from October 9 this year, and last for twelve months. Then, on July 28, in a sudden and unexpected backflip, the NSW Labor government vacated negotiations with the NSWTF and rescinded its proposed agreement. The government’s new offer is a betrayal and it amounts to austerity.