Australia’s 200,000 Federal public servants are being asked to vote of an Albanese Government offer of a 9 per cent pay rise over three years, as their union pushes for a much bigger 15 per cent increase to account for high inflation.
The Australian Public Service Commission on Tuesday offered a 3.2 per cent increase from March 2027, followed by a 3 per cent rise in March 2028 and 3 per cent raise in March 2028.
The APS’s chief negotiator Alison Stott argued the proposed annual increases were above the 2.5 per cent forecast for this financial year and out to June 2030 in the May Budget.
But with inflation in August running at an annual pace of 4 per cent, the Community and Public Sector Union pushed for a 15 per cent pay rise over three years, made up of 5 per cent annual increases.
CPSU national secretary Rebecca Fawcett said the union representing Commonwealth public servants wanted pay increases that kept pace with the cost of living.
“The APS-wide pay offer that has been tabled today falls short of what our members asked for, and what public sector workers deserve,” she said.
“This is now in our members’ hands. They will decide whether it is good enough, and the union will continue to fight for a pay offer that respects these vital workers, and the important services they deliver to the community.”
Katy Gallagher, the Finance Minister who is also the Minister for the Public Service, is the sole Labor senator for the Australian Capital Territory where most of the Canberra-based Commonwealth public servants live.
More to come...