Hayes also said he found it “concerning and confusing” that union leaders still had little clarity around Labor’s plans to scrap the former government’s controversial public sector wages cap,a key plank of its election campaign.
Removing the cap requires passing legislation,and the new parliament will not sit until next month. But despite the NSW election only being held a month ago,Hayes believes Labor should have begun consultation with the unions on establishing the framework for removing the cap.
“Does it take a month to understand how to open the door to the office? You can walk and chew gum at the same time,and at the minimum,there should be by now a clear process everyone understands for how this is going to move forward,” he said.
“If[removing the cap] was a passing thing they said in opposition that they might look at,sure,but this was the major position held in the election and everyone sat back and waited.
“Why people are dragging their feet is beyond me. I’ve raised all this with[Health Minister] Ryan Park and you know it’s all well-intentioned and so forth,but I’m not interested in talking any more,I’m interested in outcomes.”
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While the HSU has yet to hear from the government,nurses union secretary Shaye Candish said she was not concerned with the pace of negotiations,while the NSW Teachers Federation and the education department will begin talks on Friday after Education Minister Pru Car directed bureaucrats to begin working on a new deal this week.
Teachers’ union president Angelo Gavrielatos said the government had “fulfilled that part of their commitment”,while also welcoming the announcement this week to delay administrative tasks for teachers. He said he expected the wages cap would be removed “expeditiously” once parliament resumed.
“The cap was a core commitment of the[Chris] Minns government and the general public would expect the legislative program necessary to achieve that would be expedited,” he said.
Labor campaigned on a promise to scrap the public sector wages cap,first put in place by the former Coalition premier Barry O’Farrell in 2011. The wages cap currentlylimits public sector pay increases to 3 per cent annually,with the possibility of an extra 0.5 per cent if workers can show increased productivity gains.
In a statement,a government spokesperson said that “having been in government for a month we have met with most unions and are very pleased with the progress we have made in relation to the wages cap”.
“We’ve said it would take time but we’re determined to do it.”
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