SILENT SLAUGHTER: job cuts and the union that wont fight back
Public servants are the backbone of Victoria’s essential services, but we now find ourselves on the chopping block in a brutal reshaping of the workforce.
The Allan Government’s agenda of job cuts may seem just a set of numbers on a spreadsheet to supposedly get the budget back into the black but this represents the erosion of expertise, the loss of institutional memory, and an unbearable strain on the remaining workforce.
Post-pandemic recovery demands more robust public services, not fewer. Instead, the government is wielding austerity like a blunt instrument; dismantling the very infrastructure that kept society afloat during its most vulnerable moments.
The effects
For those left behind, the impact is devastating. Workloads are skyrocketing, morale is plummeting, and service delivery is deteriorating. The public relies on departments already struggling with insufficient staff to manage critical functions, from welfare support to disaster recovery. The ripple effect of these cuts is palpable.
When public servants are overwhelmed, communities suffer. Turnaround times extend, errors increase, and the safety net begins to fray. These aren’t hypothetical risks; these are real, visible consequences playing out across the state.
Where is the union?
Yet, despite this urgent crisis, our union leadership has proven incapable of mounting an effective defense. The current leadership is a toothless tiger—visible but impotent. Their rhetoric, filled with calls for dialogue and vague commitments to “advocacy,” has yielded no meaningful action to protect jobs or challenge the government’s agenda.
Members have watched as our union has relied on backroom negotiations instead of mobilising collective power. It is a strategy that has delivered little more than minor concessions, while thousands of jobs have vanished. A union that doesn’t fight for its members when our livelihoods are under threat fails its most fundamental responsibility.
This is not just a failure of strategy; it is a betrayal of the very principles of unionism. Workers join unions because we believe in collective strength, in the idea that together, we can stand against the powerful forces threatening our security. But that strength must be harnessed and directed. A union that avoids confrontation in favour of appeasement becomes irrelevant. For public servants watching our workplaces hollow out, irrelevance isn’t an option.
Our pitch
We need new leadership willing to channel members’ anger, frustration and anxiety into meaningful action. That means pushing for industrial action like refusing to work harder to make up for the staffing shortfall, calling out “work smarter not harder” for what it actually is – super exploitation of workers. We need to stand up to government and say, if you’re not going to fund the work, we’re not going to perform the work! You get what you pay for!
We must call out government policies for what they are: a deliberate attempt to shrink public services under the guise of fiscal responsibility. It also means being visible, vocal, and unafraid
to disrupt the status quo. Union leadership is not about maintaining a polite presence at the negotiating table; it’s about building and using power to defend workers.
Public service job cuts are a direct attack on workers and the communities we serve. To address this crisis, the union must shed its complacency and rise to the challenge. Anything less is a disservice to its members, its values, and the future of the public service.
Job-cuts are not the only way to get the budget back in black!
Join A Voice For Members – a Rank and File group of CPSU members committed to a democratic, fighting union for Victorian Public Servants.
MEMBER PROFILE – DYLAN
What’s your name?
Dylan Kelly-Morgan
How long have you been in the union?
5 years, with a gap
Where do you work and what do you do?
Homes Victoria. I work as a Senior Portfolio Advisor, providing portfolio analysis of the new social housing builds and working with project managers to ensure good governance.
Why did you join?
Because workers’ strength lies in our collective actions. I want to fight for workplaces to be safe, and for fair wages and conditions.
What’s your vision for the CPSU?
I’m involved in Members First because i believe the CPSU needs to be more democratic. Public servants deserve a union that is honest with members, involves members in important decision-making processes, and is dedicated to building union power in our workplaces.
WHAT’S ON
INAUGURAL A VOICE FOR MEMBERS MEETING
THURSDAY 30 JANUARY 2025
6PM – 8PM
FOLLOWED BY SOCIAL DRINKS
BAGUNG MAGALI – COMMUNITY ROOM
BARGOONGA NGANJIN, NORTH FITZROY LIBRARY, 182 SAINT GEORGES ROAD, FITZROY NORTH
MCED BY PURPLE PINGERS (AKA JORDAN VAN DEN LAMB)
This first meeting will start the process for pre-selecting candidates for Branch Council and Branch Executive, kicking off our election campaign.
This event has been held, thank you all for attending!
You can listen to a recording from the meeting thanks to our friends at 3CR.