Thousands of Tasmanians face the prospect of wage freezes after the Premier today wouldn't rule it out in Parliament.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said Peter Gutwein's razor gang is back, with workers in its sights.
"In Parliament today the Premer refused to rule out a wage freeze for the very workers we relied on to help us through the worst of the COVID-19 crisis.
"Tasmania's health workers, police, cleaners, teachers and park rangers have looked after us and kept Tasmania going for the past few months and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.
"But despite the Premier's praise for their crucial work during the pandemic, he is now considering freezing their wages.
"Only last year these workers finally won a pay rise that kept up with the cost of living, now the Premier is thinking about putting that on ice.
"As economists and even the Premier have noted, consumer confidence and spending are essential to lift the economy out of recession.
"That is the reason the State and Federal Governments have rolled out initiatives to put money in people's pockets - hoping they will spend it and support jobs.
"The Liberals' razor gang has no place in Tasmania's COVID-19 recovery and I urge Peter Gutwein to look to other measures to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
A good place to start is Labor's COVID-19 Recovery Package, which has been submitted to the Premier's Economic and Social Recovery Council, and is designed to get people into jobs, help those hardest hit by the pandemic and create a better, fairer state for everyone."
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader
