Angry Qld workers rally in wage dispute

Angry Queensland Health staff and teacher aides have converged on Parliament House in Brisbane, demanding a better pay offer from the government.

About 2000 workers rallied on Thursday, urging Premier Anna Bligh to intervene in wage negotiations.

The government has offered 2.5 per cent, plus a five per cent bonus for productivity improvements over three years.

State secretary of United Voice union Gary Bullock said the offer was lower than inflation, and would equate to less than $10 a week for most workers.

“This is the angriest I’ve ever seen them,” he told reporters.

“Fuel, water and electricity has increased, 10 bucks doesn’t help with that, their home life is going backwards.”

Unions are calling for increases of between 4.5 and 5 per cent, but teacher aides in particular would prefer job security if they had to choose between that and the higher pay.

Mr Bullock said the aides’ employment was linked to enrolments each year and wage negotiations needed to include permanent contracts and a guarantee of at least 25 hours of work a week.

Caboolture dental assistant Stefanie Sutherland told the rally Queensland Health had not acted in good faith since negotiations began in May.

“Queensland Health has adopted a just say no policy, no to everything,” she said.

“They thought the low paid and forgotten workers were going to be pushovers, Look around at all the angry people.

“Have a look out your window, Anna … we deserve better than to be bullied, harassed by management, to be lied to, disrespected, degraded, for all the hard and outstanding work we do.”

Health Minister Geoff Wilson said it was unlikely workers would get a better wage deal.

“It is very clear that the government’s wages policy is 2.5 per cent plus 0.5 per cent for productivity improvements,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“The government needs to do two things – ensure workers are treated appropriately and fairly with negotiations, but equally ensure that the government discharges its public interest obligations to taxpayers.”

He urged workers to stay at the negotiating table and said it was unlikely Ms Bligh would intervene.

Ms Bligh also urged workers to continue with negotiations.

“I understand that health workers, like everybody else, want to see a fair pay rise and I want them to get a fair pay rise,” she told reporters in Brisbane.

“We will determine that sitting around the table through negotiations, as we always do.”

The rally was the culmination of a series of rallies by Queensland Health workers across Queensland.

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