NSW nurses held their third day of strike action in November, as rail workers also ramped up industrial action over pay.
After crying poor for months when it comes to teachers, nurses and rail workers, the Minns Labor government in NSW has offered police a pay rise of up to 10 per cent a year over four years.
Nurses and railway workers are right to reject the government’s shabby 3 per cent offer and keep fighting for more. Rail workers are fighting for 8 per cent a year and nurses are fighting for a one off 15 per cent pay rise.
NSW nurses are among the lowest paid in the country. A 3 per cent pay rise would leave nurses well behind inflation and still hundreds of dollars a week behind interstate nurses.
Victorian nurses recently won a 28.4 per cent pay rise over four years—that’s 7.1 per cent per year. NSW public sector workers shouldn’t settle for less.
If there is money to pay police, there is money to pay the nurses, midwives, teachers and rail workers.
Despite a catch-up pay rise last year of around 8 per cent for most teachers after a long industrial campaign, teachers’ more recent settlement for 3 per cent a year for the next three years is starting to look embarrassing. It is below real inflation for workers—a real pay cut. There was no face-to-face teaching workload relief either, a key demand.
Official inflation has fallen to 2.1 per cent, but this is largely because of the government’s one-off electricity subsidies, and temporary petrol price falls.
This measure doesn’t accurately track the cost of living. It doesn’t include mortgages, which rose 18.9 per cent for the year, or rents which rose 6.7 per cent. That’s why the Australian Bureau of Statistics developed separate Living Costs Indexes—which for employees increased 4.7 per cent for the year.
The Minns government claims their commitment to ratios for nurses means they can’t provide decent pay increases too. The union is concerned that without a wage increase, ratios won’t be realised as nurses won’t stay.
Minns claims the money to offset the police pay deal will come from reversing the privatisation of the police insurance scheme. If the government needs more money for wages, there are plenty of other privatisations that could be reversed.
Up to $400 million of public money per year to Eraring coal power station should be scrapped, as should $1.5 billion of public money per year going to private schools, where several principals now earn over $1 million per year.
The federal government could be asked to help out, after all they just announced they were wasting a dangerous $7 billion for new long range missiles.
Strikes
Strike action can make the Minns government pay. It was strike action that broke the NSW government wages cap, and led to the teachers’ increase last year.
Industrial action on the railways has already won a multi-enterprise bargaining agreement with Sydney Trains and NSW trains, a worker on every metro platform and a qualified driver on every metro train as well as a $1310 annual allowance for a “Workplace rights training course” for RTBU members. But the key wage claim is yet to be won.
Determined strike action will be needed to win. But a major weekend of industrial action was called off in November to allow “two weeks of intensive negotiations”.
This threat of major strike action showed the union’s power. But calling action off without winning claims just hands advantage to the government, slowing momentum. A major problem has been the lack of union meetings or any member control over the campaign.
The teachers’ campaign was worse, with no campaigning in schools and no members meetings held until the final vote. The deal was done by union officials entirely through negotiations behind closed doors, and presented to members just half an hour before they voted on it.
Members at the meetings were supportive of arguments for two hours face-to-face teaching reduction and an above inflation pay rise, but voted for the deal because there was no confidence union officials would lead a fight for more.
The nurses’ union has called three well attended strikes and rallies. But a plan to escalate action through further, more frequent strikes and a willingness to close beds and disrupt hospitals is going to be needed to win 15 per cent.
There is strong community support for the nurses and midwives’ campaign. Well-paid nurses and nurse-patient ratios are crucial to the public health system and should be a priority for the Labor government.
United public sector action would help increase the pressure on Minns. Determined industrial action, and active rank-and-file mobilisation and decision making can ensure workers win.
By Chris Breen
