I think it is becoming increasingly clear why the O’Farrell Government chose injured workers entitlements simply because they are an easy target. Rather than address gross mismanagement and bureaucratic inefficiencies, they look certain to hit injured workers entitlements. Why not, injured workers are being paid way too much for doing nothing, true? But injured workers are not the only soft targets.
How did I reach this conclusion? NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has his eye well and truly on the reducing wage costs (liabilities?) in order to maintain his Government’s coveted AAA credit rating – this is economic rationalism at is most irrational.
They don’t have to be the right targets, they just need to be easy to hit !
Mike Baird doubles target for job cuts
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/baird-doubles-target-for-job-cuts/story-e6frgczx-1226388103788
NSW Treasurer Mike Baird will double his previously announced cuts to the public service in next Tuesday’s budget as he seeks to bring spending under control and bolster the AAA credit rating.
The move is likely to inflame tensions between the O’Farrell Coalition government and public-sector unions, which last year held mass protests against a 2.5 per cent annual cap on pay rises.
Unions are already planning a protest rally outside parliament next Wednesday against cuts to workers’ compensation entitlements, which Premier Barry O’Farrell has foreshadowed as a result of a blowout in the scheme’s liabilities.
In the budget, Mr Baird will announce a target of a 1.2 per cent annual reduction in labour costs over the next four years.
This is equivalent to 10,000 positions — double the target of 5000 redundancies announced in Mr Baird’s first budget last September. Police, nurses and teachers will be exempt from the changes, which could also involve workplace efficiencies.
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