The Fyles Labor Government has finally back flipped on the four-year public sector pay freeze they committed to two years ago.
Natasha Fyles clung to the pay freeze policy in the face of industrial action and protests from correctional officers and firefighters in May and June, and then teachers in August.
Education union representatives have been demanding, at the very least, a seat at the negotiating table and Unions NT Secretary Erina Early said: “The NT government must end the freeze or prepare to lose the next election.”
The pay freeze was a factor in the huge cut to Labor’s primary vote in the Fannie Bay by-election.
The last take it-or leave it offer was rejected by 86 per cent of teachers and Natasha Fyles failed to act.
In the meantime, teachers have spent their Term 3 holidays deciding whether to stay in the Northern Territory or to take jobs interstate.
Quotes attributable to the Leader of the Opposition:
“This is an embarrassing backflip for the government. Yesterday, the government was freezing pay – today the government is saying the ‘economic situation has changed significantly’. The only thing that’s changed is the public service trust in the government finally hit zero.
“How many teachers have already decided to leave the Northern Territory? We can’t afford to lose more good teachers and police just because the Labor government is incapable of governing.
“Now they’ve made the humiliating backflip, we call on the government to negotiate in good faith instead of throwing public servants ‘take it or leave it’ offers. “We have said all along we would sit down and negotiate in good faith because public servants deserve better than being made the scapegoat for Labor’s economic mismanagement.”
ENDS