General service officers in the ACT public service to walk off the job if pay rise is not offered

General services officers have also threatened to take further industrial action as workers who are members of the CFMEU and the United Workers Union voted to escalate their calls at a meeting on Wednesday.

General service officers perform cleaning, maintenance and technical duties across public spaces. The base salary for the workers is $50,925.

They are pushing for the base rate to be increased to at least $61,000.

The ACT Labor party conference in August heard some general service officers had resorted to sleeping in their cars as they were unable to afford housing in Canberra on their current wages.

At the same conference, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the government was focused on actively lifting up the wages of some of the lowest-paid staff in the territory's public service.

However, there has not yet been an offer of a pay rise.

CFMEU ACT secretary Zach Smith said workers were frustrated and the union was prepared to back them in their calls for higher wages.

"The ACT government has said all the right things. They acknowledge the current rates of pay are too low. They acknowledge the work these women and men do is vital. They acknowledge we should not a have a class of 'working poor' in Canberra," he said.

"But acknowledgement doesn't put food on the table. So if we don't get the result we need by December 1 we'll be marching on parliament.

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"And if we don't get a reasonable offer after that then every single industrial action option is on the table.

"You can't ask workers to clean and maintain a city they can't afford to live in. I hope this doesn't have to be a big fight, but if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes."

School cleaners are also taking part in the action, who are represented by the United Workers Union.

"These workers kept our city and schools clean and functional all throughout the worst of the pandemic while the rest of us were sheltering at home. Their work enabled children to go back to school safely," United Workers Union director of property services Lyndal Ryan said.

"They perform some of our most vital tasks and yet some have been reduced to sleeping in their cars. Our union will stand shoulder to shoulder with these workers and we will fight alongside the CFMEU to ensure they get what they deserve."

Workers previously walked off the job in September for a two hour stop-work rally.

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