NSW govt denies it will axe 1,000 jobs

The NSW government denies it is trying to cut nearly 1,000 staff from schools and
TAFEs.
The Public Service Association (PSA) says the Department of Education and Training
will cut 957 school office maintenance positions to fill a $127 million budget black
hole, the union says.
Earlier this year, the PSA won a pay increase of 12 per cent over the next three
years but the government is now seeking extra productivity reforms.
The dispute will come before the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) in Sydney on
Tuesday.
PSA general secretary John Cahill said any staff cuts would leave NSW with a "third
world" education system.
"These workers are some of the most low paid in our schools and yet they are the
ones the government is picking on to fund our public education system," Mr Cahill
said in a statement.
"The Department of Education and Training has mismanaged its budget so badly that
the serious reforms already agreed to ... are no longer sufficient.
"They want workers to fund the pay rise all over again."
Education Minister Verity Firth said the government was not looking to cut staff.
"The government's not pushing for any job cuts," Ms Firth told ABC radio.
"Any increase above 2.5 per cent has to be met with employee-related reforms."
NSW Premier Nathan Rees said his government would accept the ruling of the IRC.
"This is an industrial dispute that is part of an industrial setting and the
independent umpire will ultimately make a decision around this," he told reporters.
"We want a negotiated, sustainable outcome that all parties can live with.
"We will abide by the umpire's decision."