Some services provided by NSW government agencies operating in the Dubbo region are expected to be disrupted as hundreds of staff go on a 24-hour strike on Wednesday.
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The Public Sector Association spokesman for the region, Troy Wright said over 40,000 PSA members across the state, and hundreds in the region, have agreed to hold the industrial action next week to call on NSW premier Dominic Perrottet to act on their wage increase proposal submitted last February.
They're demanding a 5.2 percent wage rises to meet inflationary pressures.
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Those PSA members in frontline services such as doctors, nurses, teachers, firefighters and emergency services staff as well as uniformed police officers, are not expected to take part in the 24-hour strike, Mr Wright said.
The agencies whose services will experience some disruptions are roads and maritime, Service NSW outlets, correctional service offices at the two jails in Wellington, Western Plains Taronga Zoo, school administration and support staff, school learning centres, courts, Legal Aid NSW, community services, child protection services, civilian or non-uniformed staff at NSW Police, National Parks and Wildlife Service, non-essential staff at Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Services, and Department of Primary Industries.
The staff taking part in the strike will converge in the morning at Dubbo RSL Club on Brisbane Street.
The current NSW government agreement with the PSA is capped increase up to 2.5 percent while public servants want up to 5.2 percent to meet the rising cost of living and inflationary effects on their daily living subsistence.
Mr Wright said staff received 2.5 percent increase last year while they work during the pandemic, and 0.3 percent in 2020, but with 5.1 inflation rate and up to 0.35 percent interest rate rise this year confirmed by the Reserve Bank, families across NSW are feeling the pressure on their pockets with the rising cost of basic amenities such as a mortgage, rent, fuel, and food.
The current PSA award agreement expires end of June this year, and Mr Wright said, "Our members shouldn't be turned into a political stunt because they work hard and often in complicated roles. They've earned [the worth] of every cent of their wages."