On Wednesday morning, 300 general service officers – cleaners, construction workers, and the like – held a two-hour strike outside the ACT Government offices in Dickson, calling for the government to immediately raise their base pay.

General service officers (GSOs) are among Canberra’s lowest paid workers, many on annual salaries of just $50,925, Zach Smith, secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) ACT, stated.

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

“GSOs do vital work we all rely on, yet we’ve let them become the working poor of Canberra,” Mr Smith said. “It’s totally unacceptable, and we need to end it now.

“These are the men and women you see working on the side of the road in the middle of a freezing Canberra winter. They’re cleaning bus stops and public bathrooms through a pandemic. They’re mowing hundreds of kilometres of nature strips during long hot summers.

“GSOs deserve a wage that enables them to live in the city they keep clean and functional for everyone else. When GSOs stop work for a couple of hours, most of us don’t notice. But if they were to stop work for a couple of weeks, our city would be a catastrophic mess.

“Given the median house in Canberra is now about $1.1 million, you simply can’t be an effective family breadwinner in Canberra on the current GSO wage. Long before you’ve paid for basic accommodation, food, utilities, clothing, education expenses, and transport, the kitty runs empty.

“A minimum rate of $61,000 is still not a fair reflection of the value of their work, frankly, but it would at least mean they may not have to sleep in their cars,” Mr Smith said.

The government, he said, must increase workers’ pay.

“I suspect they know this is the right thing to do, but GSOs cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Labor MLA Michael Pettersson took part in the march.

“GSOs are some of the hardest workers in our city,” he said.

“They work tirelessly to maintain and clean our parks, public toilets, hospitals, roads, stadiums, and more. They literally keep Canberra running.

“In return for this work, they earn as little as $47,500 per year. This is completely inadequate for the long hours and hard physical labour they do for our city.”

The CFMEU did not rule out further action if necessary.

“We have been encouraged by our interactions with the ACT Government on this issue to date, but it’s also vital they understand we will not relent on this campaign for fairness.”

An ACT Government spokesperson said: “The ACT Government is committed to reducing inequality in our community, and in our public service, by actively lifting up some of our lowest paid staff.”

Mr Pettersson said he was “glad to see the government negotiating with these workers in good faith”.

“It’s time to give GSOs a fair go.”