Bathurst to strike along with thousands of Public Service Association members

The union consists of around 40,000 members, many of which will be joining the strike in their respective regions on Wednesday, June 8, with Bathurst locals rallying outside of Paul Toole's office before marching to Panthers Bathurst.

PSA NSW assistant secretary Troy Wright said the primary concern is the 2.5 per cent cap wage that was introduced in 2011.

Though the PSA fought the salary cap at the time, the 2.5 per cent limit has been manageable in the past.

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However with inflation currently sitting at 5.1 per cent, the biggest jump in Australia in over two decades, the 2.5 per cent cap no longer aligns with the cost of living.

"About 80 per cent of our members are employed by the state government in various departments, including education, so anyone who is not a teacher, corrective services, national parks, Service NSW, housing, community services and it goes on," Mr Wright said.

"It's important to point out that every other worker in NSW can get a cost of living increase equal to inflation either through negotiating with their boss directly or through the Fair Work Commission.

"Every worker in NSW can do that except for those who work for the state of NSW."

Mr Wright said the PSA wrote to the government in February asking for wages to rise in line with inflation, with any increase to superannuation to be paid on top of that and for superannuation to be paid for the first 12 months of unpaid parental leave.

Mr Wright said they followed this up twice with no response, and when meeting with the Minister for Finance and Employee Relations Damien Tudehope they were told to be patient and that it will be addressed in the upcoming budget.

"Our members are extremely frustrated with A; the position they're in, and B; the lack of response from the government," Mr Wright said.

"It's not good enough just to put this off and say 'it will be in the state budget, trust us.' We don't trust them."

Bathurst will be one of nine locations where members of the PSA can participate in a march, with all rallies assembling at their respective destinations at 10.00am.

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