CPSU commissioned Flinders University’s National Institute of Labour Studies to conduct research to help identify the possible responses to the Victorian government’s announced wages policy in relation to Public Sector pay and productivity. 

The public admission last week that dramatic workplace changes are being demanded in exchange for better pay deals along with rumoured job cuts in Education to be announced later this week shows the Government is walking away from investing in service improvements.

‘The productivity argument is a smokescreen for concessional bargaining.’ says CPSU State Secretary Karen Batt.

‘It’s a Treasury driven agenda with government’s representatives focused on trade-offs and not a long term investment in improving services.’

‘The workforce having to give something up to get more.’ 

‘That’s not productivity.’

‘Productivity is the Government increasing its investment in its services and it’s a long term investment to improve the quality of the services delivered,’ she said.

Visit here to view Flinders University’s National Institute of Labour Studies research http://goo.gl/h4QlO

The report notes that ‘productivity entails a comparison of inputs and outputs and most of the public sector has eluded productivity measurement and statisticians have, in effect, resorted to a rule of thumb, treating productivity in the sector as constant.’  

The NiLs report concludes that ‘Victorian Public sector employees are worse off than the rest of Australian Public sector employees, both in absolute terms and relative to the respective private sectors.’

Ms Batt said, ‘CPSU has argued to include strategies to redress the unacceptable staff turnover figure each year (16%) with its replacement costs as well as the large number of workplace claims relating to various forms of associated stress from bullying.’

‘Reducing these costs would produce real productivity in a sustainable fashion,’ she said.