Public sector workers have had to fight Victoria’s Labor government throughout 2026 over pay.
Labor has sought to hold down wages in an bid to pay off debt and promise business tax breaks.
Workers at the Arts Centre, members of the CPSU and MEAA, held two 24-hour strikes in September, shutting down a number of shows. They have won pay rises of 13 per cent over three years including 5 per cent in the first year.
Teachers, who also finalised a pay deal in September, have seen Premier Ben Carroll then delay reaching the state’s school funding target until 2031 and impose immediate cuts to funding for students with disabilities.
ASU members across eight councils have been fighting for a multi-employer agreement for over a year.
The council workers were offered a pathetic pay rise of 2.75 per cent starting on 1 January 2027, effectively a pay cut with inflation at 4.3 per cent. It includes no back-pay, despite their old agreement expiring in July last year, beyond a one-off payment of $1200.
The offer would lock in wage rises at around the same level until 2030. Workers want a 22 per cent pay rise over four years, after below-inflation pay increases since 2021.
One waste depot in Merri-bek Council staged a 48-hour strike in early October, as other workers struck for 24 hours.
Direct Federal and State Government funding to councils has declined since 2014.
Doctors in public hospitals narrowly accepted a one-year deal in October, delaying further industrial action until March.
More than 3500 allied health professionals rejected a similar one-year deal with a 92 per cent vote against. It would have prevented further strike action until October 2027.
The last agreement in 2022 delivered paltry 2 per cent a year pay rises. They have held strikes since June, which are set to continue even as the election nears.
Members of HACSU have been fighting private disability providers to the NDIS. Workers at 35 Scope homes took strike action in September. This comes after the end of extra state government funding for group houses it runs.
The ASU has said it won’t door-knock for Labor and is running anti-Labor ads after the government failed to lift the cap on council rates.
The firefighters’ union is calling on its members to put Labor last and the electrical union is cutting back on funding for Labor’s campaign.
Workers’ anger at Labor is likely to help push it out of government at November’s election—and Labor only has itself to blame.
By Tom Orsag
