Our public sector workers – including nurses, midwives, health workers, paramedics, teachers, university staff, and transport and front line workers - have been on the frontline of crisis after crisis, working tirelessly to keep us safe.
Workers deserve more than thanks, but the Liberal National Government’s cruel public sector wage freeze means public sector wages aren’t keeping up with rising inflation and the cost of living.
The Greens know that our public sector workers, and all working people, need better rights, higher pay and more secure work. Working people need to be safe at work.
The Greens will overhaul the unfair wage freeze. We will mandate staff to patient ratios in hospitals, fix chronic staff shortages in schools, take urgent intervention to alleviate unreasonable workloads, and properly resource our schools, hospitals, public services and on our public transport systems.
Improved conditions and wages aren’t won easily, and the Greens will always support the right of workers to take industrial action, go on strike, collectively bargain, and withhold labour. We will protect the right to strike.
Many workers are in insecure and irregular work with no rights to award wages, secure jobs and decent conditions. They are marginalised and deserve fair wages and rights. All workers, including migrant and temporary workers must have the same workplace rights as other workers.
With better rights for working people we can build a more sustainable, equitable and democratic future.
The Greens will:
- Abolish the public sector wage cap and delivering real wage increases as well as increased resourcing for frontline community, health and transport workers
- Mandate nurse-to-patient ratios and increased staffing and resourcing in our schools
- Increase job security and conditions for gig workers, artists, labour hire workers, and casuals to ensure the same minimum pay, conditions and protections as other employees including the right to be represented by a union
- Ensure sector-wide bargaining across entire industries rather than restricted to single enterprises
- Implement portable leave
- Reform the Industrial Relations Commission to ensure it is an independent and neutral body - and not doing the bidding of conservative governments.