The Treasurer, Peter Gutwein is clearly determined to pursue his collision course with public sector unions, with his knee-jerk rejection of the recommendation handed down by the full bench of the Independent Tasmanian Industrial Commission, Greens Leader and Treasury spokesperson Kim Booth MP said today.
“Treasurer Gutwein’s rejection of the full bench recommendation of the Industrial Commission, which was made in ‘the strongest possible terms’, within barely an hour of its delivery is an extraordinary display of sheer bloody-mindedness and arrogance, even by this government’s low standards,” Mr Booth said.
“Clearly the Liberals had to abandon their agenda to gut the independent Industrial Commission, so now they are just going to try and side-line it.”
“It is because of this belligerence and refusal to listen that the Hodgman government is in this mess in the first place.”
“The Industrial Commission is the state’s independent workplace umpire, the full bench has put forward a strongly worded recommendation, and it is incumbent upon Peter Gutwein to sit down and consider it.”
“Tasmanians reliant upon the services provided by our public sector workers, deserve all alternative propositions to mass job cuts to be taken seriously by the government.”
“This is one of the worst anti-worker governments this state has seen. First they hire fly-in lawyers to fight against public sector unions’ attempt to initiate a wage freeze, and now they are belligerently thumbing their nose at the state’s independent industrial workplace umpire,” Mr Booth said.