Treasurer opens door to unions to mitigate public sector job cuts
Tasmania's Treasurer Peter Gutwein will give unions an opportunity to propose a pay freeze alternative to save hundreds of public sector jobs.
Today saw the first parliamentary question time since the Government withdrew its pay freeze bill to instead embark on a plan to cut the equivalent of 861 full-time public service jobs.
Mr Gutwein pulled the pay freeze bill last month after the state's Upper House voted to delay the proposal.
The pay freeze was designed to save 500 jobs but the Government lost the support of the Upper House after a campaign by unions and opposition parties.
Mr Gutwein told unions they had one final opportunity to save at least some of those jobs.
He has ruled out forced redundancies and ruled out protracted negotiations with the unions on the cuts.
He has said if the unions agree to freeze pay for a year there would be fewer cuts.
"If the unions are prepared to put forward savings options in the form of a pay freeze that is genuine and without conditions, we will accept those savings," Mr Gutwein said.
"These savings will directly and proportionately be used to limit the 500 job losses and help us to achieve the $50 million per year in savings.
"The ball is in the unions' court and they only have one shot at this."
Mat Johnston from the Community and Public Sector Union said meetings would be held this week.
"What we're doing is going to our members to get authorisation to make an offer to the Government to freeze their wages," he said.
"These are wages that were agreed in legally binding contracts but we need something in return for that, and all that we need is for the Government to be true to its word and guarantee they will not cut more jobs than they said they would."
Hundreds 'express interest' in redundancy or workplace renewal
Mr Gutwein also told parliament more than 500 workers had expressed an interest in moving on.
"In the three weeks since the budget passed a number of departments have initiated an expression of interest process for workforce renewal programs and voluntary redundancies," the Treasurer said.
"As of today across Government nearly 550 public servants have lodged an expression of interest in either voluntary redundancy or workforce renewal programs."
During an earlier sitting Opposition Leader Bryan Green also wanted to know how many jobs the Government needed to shed each week.
"You need to sack 25 people each week over the next eight months," he said.
Premier Will Hodgman would not be drawn on figures.
"If you were so concerned about fewer job cuts, why did you vote against our wage freeze?"
