Key Points
A Rebecca White Labor Government will rebuild our public sector and make it Tasmania’s lead employer.
After a decade of the Liberals, Tasmania’s State Service has been worn down and is facing challenges in hiring, retention, worker confidence and in implementing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.
We will start by holding a Tasmanian Workforce Summit within our first year of Government, inviting workers, unions, business, the community sector and community leaders to highlight challenges and develop solutions.
As part of our Plan to repair the State Service, Labor will:
- Expand pathways to State Service careers
- Improve equity and diversity by removing unconscious bias and supporting more workers with a disability in to the workforce
- Prioritise work health and safety
- Make more roles permanent and secure
- Set a target to close the mainland wage gap
- Make State Procurement guidelines more robust, fair and enforceable
- Stop the excessive reliance on contracts, consultants and labour hire
- Stop the privatisation of Public Services
- Streamline recruitment to make it faster and fairer
- Ensure annual reporting of gender pay gaps and ratios in Government Departments and GBEs
- Have Ministers meet regularly and directly with workers from the agencies they oversee
- Reverse the privatisation of TAFE
- Adopt Union Encouragement Principles for all Government Agencies
- Amend legislation to provide protection for whistleblowers and public sector workers who speak out about their workplace.
Why we need it
After a decade in government, the Liberals have worn down our State Service. As soon as they entered Government, they cut hundreds of jobs, before realising their importance and trying to hire them back again.
“Labor will rebuild our public sector and make it Tasmania’s lead employer”
Now, it’s no wonder public servants are demoralised and left without appropriate support or a sense of direction. Labor will support the State Service to become Tasmania’s lead employer, and rebuild it to serve all Tasmanians.
The details
A Rebecca White Labor Government will:
- Hold a Tasmanian Workforce Summit
A Rebecca White Labor Government will hold a Workforce Summit within our first year in office. We will invite workers, unions, business, the community sector and community leaders to speak to the challenges in service delivery and the workforce shortages across the State Services. This summit will inform the development of our strategic workforce planning, and build strategies to address the needs of Tasmanians in the short and long-term.
- Make the State Service Tasmania’s lead employer
A Labor Government will make changes to the structure, culture and systems of the State Service so it can become the Lead Employer of Tasmania. We’ll prioritise Work Health and Safety and work towards parity of wages and conditions in EBA negotiations.
- Expand State Service career pathways
We will expand pathways to State Service careers by introducing entry-level positions for school leavers, creating paraprofessional positions, collaborating with TAFE and the University of Tasmania on skills shortages and graduate program pathways without gaps or waiting periods, and addressing migrant workforce barriers.
- Create more secure employment
Labor in Government will create more secure employment in the State Service by reviewing casual and fixed-term roles and developing criteria to assess whether contracts can be insourced. We will also end the practice of indefinite fixed-term contracts and hire workers permanently, while also retaining mobility and flexibility.
- Stop the privatisation of public services
Labor in Government will rule out any further privatisation of public services and crack down on contractors, consultants and labour hire. We will identify and remove wasteful spending on external labour and reinvest in the capabilities of the State Service, while publishing a risk register of privatised services and measuring the cost of inaction and delay.
- Deliver faster and fairer recruitment
A Rebecca White Labor Government will introduce streamlined recruiting to improve timeliness and remove conscious and unconscious bias from State Service employment. We will make recruitment more mobile and flexible, deidentify applicants, and provide training to make hiring more inclusive.
- Reverse the privatisation of TAFE
A Rebecca White Labor Government will work to bring TAFE back into the State Service and deliver better outcomes for students and teachers.
- Hear from workers directly
Under a Labor Government, the Premier and Ministers will meet quarterly with workers elected from each Agency to hear directly about workplace challenges and solutions. Ministers will also be encouraged to take regular unannounced visits to services to have a realistic view of what is happening on the ground.
- Adopt Union Encouragement Principles
Labor is proudly pro-worker and will adopt Union Encouragement Principles across the public sector, sending a strong message that union membership and activity is not just tolerated, but encouraged. These principles will include active steps agencies must take to support union membership and rights.