Emergency workers threaten to strike over super
Emergency services workers have rejected reassurances from the Victorian Government that their super benefits will be fully preserved under a proposed merger with a Government superannuation scheme.
Police Association Victoria secretary Paul Mullett told Money Management the reassurances would not prevent police, firefighters and ambulance paramedics in the state from taking action over the merger.
Mullett said industrial action could only be averted by a Government decision not to proceed with its merger of the Emergency Services Superannuation Scheme (ESSS) and the Government Superannuation Office (GSO) scheme.
Mullett rejected an earlier statement by Minister for Finance John Lenders that member entitlements were “enshrined in legislation, and that these entitlements will be preserved”.
“The GSO is under-funded in excess of $12 billion dollars, and we have grave fears over merging it with a fully funded, well managed defined benefits scheme of $1.3 billion for emergency services workers.
“The funded scheme will absorb that $12 billion of unfunded liability, and therefore it follows that members’ benefits over time will realistically erode.”
In a meeting between the three emergency sectors last week, union executives resolved to refuse to work overtime or process paperwork.
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