NSW Premier O’Farrel Allows Pay for Some Striking Public Sector Workers

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell criticised on Friday that some public workers - who are at the same time parents and joined the massive Thursday strike against the state's pay policy - would get paid while off their jobs.

His anger is over a memo that the Public Service Association sent to members that those who participated in the protest action could still claim special leave - and in the process get paid - if their children were inconvenienced by the rally, Bigpond News reports.

NSW Finance and Services Minister Greg Pearce pointed out that the teachers who joined the industrial action breached the order of the Industrial Relations Commission for them not to participate in the strike.

However, NSW Teachers Federation President Bob Lipscombe said the tutors were not happy with the mass action, but needed to express their disagreement with the 2.5 per cent pay hike cap set by the NSW government despite inflation rate exceeding 3.6 per cent.

"We're not just fighting for pay. We're fighting for children's rights. Every child in Australia has the right to a free and equal education and I'm not prepared to see it go to a Third World standard," Ultimo Public School teacher Leonie Turner told The Australian.

Ms Turner was one of the estimated 35,000 public workers, which included firefighters, nurses, police officers and transport employees, who joined the rally. The last time such a large rally against a government policy was in 1989 when then NSW Education Minister cut 2,500 teaching positions.

Bigger Rallies

Unions NSW, however, threatened of larger rallies in the future.

"This is going to be a long campaign... It will be a political campaign, it will be a campaign we will take out to the community, and, as always, there will be industrial aspects to it as well," Unions NSW Secretary Mark Lennon told The Sydney Morning Herald.

There were comments on social networking site Twitter that Mr O'Farrell hid in his office when the rally was held in front of the NSW Parliament on MacQuarie Street.

"I was in the balcony listening to the speeches in the Domain," the premier tweeted back, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Protesters placed the blame back on their premier for forcing them to make a choice between job reductions or salary cuts.

"If you're looking for a fight, Barry, well you've found one. Either change the laws or change your job," firefighter Leighton Drury was quoted by The Australian.