Tasmanian public sector workers have walked off the job again today, rallying behind the cry “same job, same pay, we deserve a mainland wage” as they reject the government’s 3% pay rise offer.
The industrial action began on Tuesday with mass walkouts across the state’s north-west, continued today in Launceston and will move south to Hobart tomorrow.
Teachers, health workers, firefighters, child safety workers and park rangers are among those participating in the coordinated stoppages, forcing school closures and disrupting government services between 8am and 11am.
“As a member of this Tasmanian community … I know how much you guys actually do deserve mainland wages because you are out there doing that same job, and you should be getting that same pay,” a lead protester told the crowd in Launceston.
The workers have rejected the government’s offer of a three per cent pay rise that largely maintained current working conditions for another 12 months.
Education Minister Jo Palmer expressed disappointment at the industrial action.
“We are at the negotiating table and all I can do is urge the unions to come back to the table, to continue the discussions,” Palmer said yesterday
“We understand how disappointing it is for the learning capacity of our students, but also the real impact for families right across Tasmania.”
The Australian Education Union Tasmania claims teachers have been left with no choice but to strike.
“We’re fighting for reasonable workloads and safe classrooms for our students,” the union said.
“Despite Premier Rockliff’s attempts to shift the blame – he caused this.”
Labor’s shadow Minister for Workplace Relations Ella Haddad criticised the government’s approach to negotiations.
“The stop work action this week shows that Jeremy Rockliff is losing his very own workforce because he’s failing to listen to them and treat them with respect,” Haddad said.
Schools have communicated directly with families about local arrangements, with classes resuming at 11:30am on affected days.
