Government splurges on international lawyers to fight its own workers’ offer of a pay freeze

The Tasmanian Government has hired a topflight international law firm to represent it at the Industrial Commission in Hobart and is set to spend more than a $145,000* a day in an expensive bid to stop its own workforce achieving a pay freeze.

The “fly in fly out” international legal team from Herbert Smith Freehills will represent the State Government at the hearing on Monday in the Tasmanian Industrial Commission where public sector unions have lodged applications to vary Awards to bring into effect a financial year pay freeze.

“Premier Will Hodgman is hiring a gold plated international legal team to fight a move by his own workforce to offer him a wage freeze and savings of $17million this financial year alone,” said Unions Tasmania President Roz Madsen.

“It’s completely ludicrous that we have a Government prepared to pay upward of $145,000 a day to make sure their own workforce are prevented from instituting a pay freeze to save money and jobs!” said Ms Madsen.

“The Government could have used its own in-house lawyers but clearly no expense is to be spared when it comes to stopping its workers from saving the Government money that it is says it desperately needs.”

In hiring international lawyers, the Government has snubbed its own public sector lawyers and private sector law firms in Tasmanian. It makes a mockery of their policy to support Tasmanian small business called the Think Local First Campaign.

Public sector workers offered the Government a financial year pay freeze with a commitment to negotiate savings into the next financial year but the offer was rejected in less than 24 hours.

“Workers have offered the Government all the savings it wanted for this financial year with a commitment to negotiate further savings next year. The workers’ wage freeze plan delivers all the savings of the Treasurer’s own amended ‘pay pause’ legislation,” she said.

Public Sector Unions lodged amended employment Awards at the Industrial Commission last week (Monday 27 October) which defer public sector pay rises from this financial year until the next and seeks to force the Government to the negotiating table. The hearing is at the Industrial Commission on Monday 3 November at 10.30am.
Unions Tasmania President Roz Madsen