COMMUNITY Services Minister Mary Wooldridge has come out swinging against union officials as pay negotiations become strained in the social services sector.
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State government staff rallied at Warrnambool’s Civic Green last week to call for a pay increase that would match Victoria Police’s wage rise of 4.5 per cent.
Spring Street has faced a number of bitter pay negotiations with public servants this year, most notably with police officers and state hospital workers.
Ms Wooldridge said Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) claims that there was only a 2.5 per cent pay increase for child protection workers were wrong.
She said the state government had proposed a range of reforms to improve support for the child protection workforce, which included a pay rise of up to 15 per cent for frontline workers.
“This figure includes the government’s proposed Victorian Public Service-wide pay offer of 2.5 per cent,” Ms Wooldridge said.
Ms Wooldridge said frontline youth justice workers would receive a 4.5 per cent pay increase under the current state offer.
Community and Public Sector Union secretary Karen Batt told The Standard last week that workers had been offered 2.5 per cent, a figure she claimed would not match cost-of-living pressures.
She said the state government had been “picking winners” during the pay talks process.
“We want a wage increase that is in line with the cost of living,” Ms Batt said.
“The wages deal made with Victoria Police is the benchmark.”
