Three thousand workers, mainly members of the Public Service Association, gathered on the steps of Adelaide’s parliament house on 15 October to rally against the state government’s proposed enterprise agreement. A smaller rally took place in Port Augusta on 9 October.
The last time the PSA even considered this type of action was back in 2017.
Negotiations started in September last year and the previous EA expired on 9 December. But no new agreement has been reached.
The initial bargaining was led by the decades-old previous PSA leadership, headed at the time by general secretary Natasha Brown. There were delays due to inactive union leadership.
When the reform ticket PSA Change was launched, it used the union’s mishandling of the talks as the primary point of attack. The new general secretary Charlotte Watson and her assistant secretary Celia Brougham are out to prove they will make good on threats of industrial action and organised buses to bring workers to the protest.
The South Australian public service remains the lowest paid in the nation. This includes not just admin officers but essential roles in child protections, corrections, the Country Fire Service (CFS) and rangers.
This diversity could be seen in the turn out on the 15th: Department of Correctional Services officers were flanked by CFS workers and child protection officers, as well as the flags of other unions, such as Professionals Australia.
The rally, which went from only 12.30pm to 1pm, was full of energy, with chants of “stand up, fight back!” while one person shouted “F**k the government!” to laughs and hesitant applause from the crowd.
Speakers at the rally reflected the frustration, demanding the government provide a pay rise to match the standard set by other states.
The PSA leadership has been very public about their intention to organise further industrial action until the demand for an immediate 20 per cent pay rise is met. So far the SA government has offered rises barely over 10 per cent over three years, an offer rejected by the majority of PSA members.
The response from the workers gave the PSA confidence to call a rally on Saturday 25 October, outside the ALP state conference.
After the rally, many of my co-workers and team leaders excited about the prospect of industrial action, asking for further updates on the agreement since.
Pessimism from jaded workers is now being replaced with a cautious optimism that change can be fought for.
There is a lot of lost time to be made up for, but while the best time for this sort of action would have been decades ago when the subpar pay rates started, the second-best time to start is right now.
By a PSA member
