Trade unionists and low-paid workers will take industrial action if the ACT Government does not meet their claims for higher wages, and lift them out of the “servitude” of the working poor.

“We need to be prepared to show the government how serious we are,” Zachary Smith, secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) ACT Branch, said.

Civic Square was a sea of orange this afternoon as hundreds of members of the CFMEU and the United Workers’ Union (UWU) held a protest outside the ACT Legislative Assembly against the government’s latest wage offer in their negotiations for higher wages.

It was, the CFMEU said, one of Canberra’s biggest blue-collar rallies in years – “one of the most important battles that our union has been involved in for a decade,” Mr Smith said.

• CFMEU calls for higher wages for ACT’s lowest-paid workers (15 September)
• GSO leaders to decide on action against ACT Government (2 November)
• March on ACT Legislative Assembly and strikes threatened (3 November)

The CFMEU and UWU demand that the government pay general service officers (GSOs), cleaning services officers (CSOs), and building services officers (BSOs) – the ACT equivalent of council workers: public sector employees who supply physical labour, trades, and technical skills to the nation’s capital, such as cleaning or construction – higher wages.

Many earn only $50,925 annually, which the CFMEU considers unacceptable. In their view, many of the GSOs, CSOs, and BSOs are working poor, unable to meet Canberra’s rising costs of living, and some have been reduced to sleeping in their cars.

The unions argue that a restructure of classifications is needed, so the lowest-paid GSO workers will be paid at least $61,000.

“You cannot say we’re an inclusive society if full-time workers are worried about putting food on the table and a roof over their heads,” Mr Smith said. “It is a moral imperative that we right this wrong.”

The CFMEU has campaigned for more than a year to fix this issue, he continued.

“The government knows what the issue is; they know how to fix it. … It is a moral failure of this government if they fail to act.

“More severe industrial action would spell chaos for the city. We’re confident the government will do the right thing and ensure some of their most crucial workers get a fair deal.”

During the pandemic, Mr Smith said, CFMEU and UWU members “kept this town open, kept the community safe”.

“These workers mow hundreds of kilometres of public grass in blazing summer heat, clean disgusting public toilets, and work on the side of the road when the temperature is well below freezing.

UWU spokesperson Erryn Cresshull said: “It’s absolutely unacceptable for workers to be paid less than $51,000 a year while trying to live in Canberra, where the already high cost of living is now skyrocketing.

“Any government, let alone a Labor administration, should not pay people poverty wages to do some of the most crucial tasks the ACT needs to function.

“School Cleaners and Building Services Officers kept our kids safe during the pandemic; they are essential workers who deserve better.”

Several ACT Government MLAs attended the rally, including Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith, Labor backbencher Michael Pettersson, and Greens backbencher Andrew Braddock.

“I support a fair go for GSOs, BSOs and CSOs, and I was proud to attend their rally outside of the Assembly today,” Mr Pettersson said.

“These workers are some of the lowest paid ACT government employees, and they are feeling the pinch of rising cost of living pressures.

“Through the bargaining process, which is already underway, I am confident the ACT Government will deliver pay rises for these hardworking essential workers.”