Setting the bar: clear wage demands and how we’ll raise them

In enterprise bargaining, clarity is power.

That’s why PSA Change has submitted a clear wage claim—up to 20%—alongside our full log of claims to the declared employer. A defined wage figure sets expectations and keeps negotiations focused. Without it, bargaining risks becoming ineffective and drawn out.

PSA Change has done the research. Our claim is grounded in inflation trends, industry standards, and comparisons across other jurisdictions. It demonstrates professionalism, strengthens our bargaining position, and shows members we are serious about delivering results.

If industrial action becomes necessary or members want to continue current industrial action, a clear wage demand ensures action is strategic, targeted, and effective. We will be ready, after the election, to hit the ground running and secure the best possible wage outcome.

Let’s look at the record:

• Wage increases in our last four years: 6%.

• Inflation in SA over the same period: 19.7%.

• Outcomes in other states/unions over the same period: SA Nurses 13%, SA Weekly Paid 10%, SA Firies 14%, WA PS 15%, Qld PS 11%, Tas PS 12.8%.

This is without taking into account the wage freeze we endured from 2019 to 2021 under the current PSA leadership.

Meanwhile, our union membership has declined from 10,188 to 8,386 members since 2021. That matters. Union power comes from density—and leadership. Other unions have shown what strong leadership can achieve, with growing membership and bringing privatised services back into public hands: SA trains and trams, NSW and WA prisons, and more.

Unfortunately, our recent bargaining outcomes—and declining density—reflect the opposite.

We need strong industrially skilled leadership to bring back our strength.

Celia Brougham (L) and Charlotte Watson (R) are running for Assistant General Secretary and General Secretary in the upcoming PSA elections held in June-July 2025.

Charlotte and Celia have the industrial skills and experience to bring back our strength across all enterprise agreements and achieve the wage increases we need by:

• Applying pressure through industrial disputes and litigation. The government will know that Charlotte and Celia are assertive, strategic and credible because they will hold the employer to account as a matter of course.

• Open, honest communication with members genuinely engaged throughout bargaining.

• Cross-agreement strength through joint campaigns.

• Leadership that listens and leads with clarity.

A separate enterprise agreement for AHPs and AHAs will not divide us. It will recognise specialist skills, allow tailored outcomes, and still enable support across cohorts. Every other state already has separate agreements for AHPs/AHAs and have achieved better wage outcomes. The separate agreement is not a government initiative. A separate agreement has been won following a decade long campaign by the Health Services Union. We will finalise our log of claims for the separate AHP/AHA agreement soon.

Charlotte (for General Secretary) and Celia (for Assistant General Secretary) are committed to outcomes that reflect your work and your value. Separate agreements are a tool—not a threat—when guided by good leadership.

We must focus on what members need: real wage outcomes and growing our power through density. That requires industrial skill and political will. If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting what we’ve always got—and let’s be frank, that’s not good enough.

Talk to your colleagues now about the upcoming union election and make sure you vote.

It's time to set the bar.

It’s time for PSA Change.

Talk to your colleagues now about the upcoming union election and make sure you vote.

Postal voting will be from 18 June. 

Your vote must be posted by 2 July for the vote to count.