Thursday, 9 March 2023

 Sam HIBBINS (Prahran) (09:48): I want to thank all those workers who joined in our calls for the government to stop keeping wages low and scrap their cap on public sector wage rises. I heard from a range of public sector workers – teachers, nurses, educational support workers – who shared their stories about the impact of low wages. Key themes that came through were mental health, with financial stress contributing significantly to people’s anxiety and negative mental health; people feeling undervalued and underappreciated; people working full time but still being on the poverty line, having to put off the purchase of essentials like reading glasses and dental work; and many public sector workers actually considering leaving their professions. I urge the government to stop keeping wages low and scrap the public sector wages cap.