More than 24,000 public servants in the Northern Territory will finally receive a pay rise in coming months after a deal was struck with the NT government, the union representing public sector workers says.
Key points:
- Public servants will get two lump sum bonuses and a 2 per cent pay rise or $2,000 salary increase
- The public sector union says it will withdraw a case with the Fair Work Commission once it gets the agreement in writing
- The new deal will cost an extra $20 million for the government, the union says
According to the union, workers covered by the Northern Territory public sector general agreement will get two $2,000 lump sum bonuses in 2023 and 2024, as well as the greater of either a 2 per cent pay rise or $2,000 salary increase.
Workers at Jacana Energy, a government-owned corporation, will also be covered by the deal.
The deal follows the NT government scrapping a controversial public service pay freeze in October last year.
It also comes two weeks after the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) took the NT government to the Fair Work Commission , alleging public servants were yet to receive any pay increase months after the change in policy.
The NT government was contacted by the ABC but did not confirm the deal or provide comment.
The CPSU's Northern Territory representative David Villegas said the union had been waiting for this meeting with the government to see if the issue could be resolved without the intervention of the FWC.
"We had the case listed for Fair Work again on May 31, we were waiting until today to hear what the outcome would be to see if this would ultimately resolve the dispute," he said.
"At this stage we can notify Fair Work that we can defer the hearing until we receive the determination in writing, which essentially makes the pay offer a real thing.
"Once we get that in writing, then we will tell Fair Work that we have withdrawn but we will not withdraw until we are absolutely certain that our members will be getting paid and it's in writing."
Mr Villegas acknowledged that the agreement would not be perfect for everyone but said it was vindication for CPSU members.
"At the end of the day this dispute was about ensuring that they will get the answers that they needed," he said.
"Not only did they get an answer for when they are going to get paid, but they are also going to get the lump sum payments which was completely off the cards until today."
He said the pay increase would kick in for Jacana employees on July 1 and for other members under the agreement on August 10.
The CPSU said the government would be allocating an extra $20 million to cover the pay deal, on top of the $245 million dollar treasury outlined in this month's budget to cover wage increases.
The NT government cited the rising cost of living for scrapping the controversial pay freeze in October after sustained pressure from unions.
It followed public servants agreeing to the freeze months earlier during enterprise bargaining.
Article written by Natasha MacFarlane for the ABC