The Public Service Association (PSA) condemns today's Liberal Party election pledge to cut up to 4,000 public sector jobs, warning it would devastate essential services and take the state backwards.
Voters must know these cuts will impact on local hospitals, schools, and child protection services.
The union said the announcement, made in the final days of the campaign, confirms long-held fears the Liberals want to shrink the public sector at the expense of South Australians who rely on it.
PSA General Secretary Charlotte Watson said the proposal was “a direct attack on workers and the community alike.”
“When the Liberals were last in Government in this great state, they cut our members’ wages by 15 per cent over six years, leaving many of them below the award and struggling to make ends meet,” Ms Watson said.
“Now, in the dying days of this campaign, they’ve told voters they will cut between 10 and 30 per cent of our members.
“The Liberals don’t rely on frontline services, their mates in the top end of town are rich enough to avoid public hospitals and public schools, but most voters can’t.
“This is standard stuff from the Liberals - attacking one of their favourite scapegoats, the public sector.
“Behind every one of these jobs is a worker delivering vital services in hospitals, schools, child protection, corrections and communities right across South Australia.”
The PSA warned that cutting thousands of jobs would inevitably lead to longer wait times, reduced services, and increased pressure on already stretched frontline workers.
“You cannot cut your way to better services,” Ms Watson said.
“Fewer workers means fewer services. It’s that simple.”
Ms Watson said the Liberals had failed to explain how such deep cuts could occur without impacting critical services.
Contact: Tim Brunero 0405 285 547
