2026 State Award negotiations continue

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Published: Tuesday, 17 February 2026 16:36

Like an evenly matched tug-of-war, we work our way through the negotiations. Tomorrow it will be the eighth day we have met - still in a Socratic way, without sledging, arguing about the changes that we should make for the 2026 Award. We now start to meet weekly. We are under pressure to have an “in principle” agreement between us by the last week of March.

As far as we’re all concerned, it’s all about the money. Interest rates, Treasury projections of 4% inflation in 2026, and the increasing cost of living all mean that must be the primary focus.

The unions pressed the employers to recognise that while wages have kept in line with inflation over the last decades, we’ve never had the opportunity to provide increases that will actually attract and retain people to the industry. The employers don’t match the unions’ enthusiasm, but what could possibly go wrong with that approach?