The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has rejected many of the measures affecting the Australian Public Service (APS) in the Federal Budget for 2019-20, claiming it includes hidden job cuts, holds down wages, continues privatisation and outsourcing and maintains the Average Staffing Level cap.
National Secretary of the CPSU, Nadine Flood (pictured) said 1,081 jobs were cut from the APS in the past year, despite last year’s Budget papers saying it would grow by 912 jobs.
“This shows the damage of the staffing cap, continued in this Budget and driving the privatisation of core Commonwealth work and the under-staffing of critical services including the National Disability Insurance Agency,” Ms Flood said.
She said 777 Australian Tax Office jobs had been cut since the last Budget, dropping staff numbers from 18,193 to 17,416, meaning the supposed increased resources to 18,104 would still leave the Tax Office with fewer staff than a year ago.
“This Budget should be using the public sector as a lever to stimulate wages growth through the entire economy, yet this Government is proposing another real wage cut, allocating just 1.76 per cent a year to its own wage budget over the next four years,” Ms Flood said.
“The Government directly sets the pay for nearly 300,000 Australians around the country, yet it’s only used that power as a brake on the entire economy.”
She said wages growth rather than tax cuts was the real answer to improving living standards.
“The Government has continued to chip away at the Department of Human Services, and the Medicare and Centrelink services it provides,” Ms Flood said.
