Essential workers prepare to 'shut the state down' as wage crisis deepens
Public Service Association
WHAT: 5,000+ public servants walk off the job & march on Parliament House
WHEN: Wednesday 26 November 2025, 12:00 NOON (for 12.30 march)
WHERE: Hindmarsh Square to Parliament House, Adelaide
Essential workers prepare mass walk-off as crisis in wages, staffing and services hits breaking point.
South Australia is bracing for widespread disruption on Wednesday as thousands of essential public sector workers walk off the job in what the Public Service Association (PSA) says will be one of the largest industrial actions in recent state history.
Child protection caseworkers, State Emergency Service crews, housing workers, corrections officers, youth justice officers, administration staff, court sheriff officers, and hundreds of other essential workers will take a half-day stoppage and march from Hindmarsh Square to Parliament House.
The rally is the culmination of weekly lunch stoppages held throughout November at key ministerial offices, including:
ALP State Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis’ office
Housing Minister Nick Champion’s office
Minister for Child Protection and Women Katrine Hildyard’s office
“These weekly actions have built momentum and shown the Government the strength and determination of public sector workers,” PSA General Secretary Charlotte Watson said.
“The Mega March on 26 November is the next step: a full-scale demonstration of our collective power and the urgency of this crisis.”
PSA members have seen a 20% reduction in real wages over the last six years, with many slipping below the award safety net by nearly $4,000. While inflation has hit highs of 7.2%, workers have received the equivalent of just 1% a year in pay increases.
Many essential frontline workers now earn as little as $55,000 a year which is barely above the minimum wage.
Housing pressures have intensified the crisis: it was recently announced that Adelaide’s rental unaffordability is now on par with Sydney, making survival on public sector wages nearly impossible.
Across states, South Australian public servants remain the lowest paid in the country.
An administration position in SA could be paid $58,709, compared to $73,954 in WA, $67,872 in the ACT, and $66,766 in Tasmania.
A PSA survey of thousands of members found workers facing extreme financial stress:
“My rent has gone up 65% since the last EB. Groceries cost an extra $200 a fortnight. This is robbery. I’m ready to move interstate just to survive.”
“I have two kids and another on the way. This offer is a joke. We cannot live like this.”
“People are leaving in droves. We are unappreciated, unvalued, and treated like second-class citizens.”
PSA General Secretary Charlotte Watson says essential workers are being pushed into poverty while keeping the state running.
“Despite the vital work they do protecting children, responding to emergencies, supporting vulnerable families, keeping courts running, maintaining our states bio security, many of our members are struggling to pay rent, buy groceries, or keep up with bills,” Ms Watson said.
“When Adelaide’s rental unaffordability is now matching Sydney’s crisis levels, it becomes clear these wages are simply not enough to live on.”
“Our members have lost the equivalent of 20 cents in every dollar they were earning in 2015. No worker can sustain that.”
“We are calling on Premier Peter Malinauskas to step in and lift essential workers out of poverty.
The public sector is haemorrhaging staff, hundreds of positions remain unfilled, and services that South Australians rely on every day are at breaking point.”
The PSA says Wednesday’s Mega March will demonstrate the full scale and urgency of the crisis.
“Our message is simple: the state cannot function without these workers. If the Government will not listen at the bargaining table, we will make them listen in the streets,” Ms Watson said.
“Thousands will march. Adelaide will stop. This is what happens when essential workers are pushed too far.”
Dr Jade Taylor, Forensic Scientist at Attorney-General’s Department, PSA Delegate
“I’ve worked in forensic science for two years, and the work is vital - from testing illicit drugs that are causing overdoses in South Australia, to DNA analysis for sexual assault cases and post-mortems for homicide investigations. We need university qualifications and constant professional training, yet our wages simply don’t match the responsibility or the pressure of the job. I earn $75,000 before tax, but half of that goes straight to rent, and every bill is rising faster than our pay. Other states pay around $20,000 more for the same work, and Adelaide is now just as expensive as Melbourne or Sydney. Our team is underpaid, undervalued, and feeling the strain. A real pay rise isn’t just fair - it’s necessary to keep these critical justice services running.”
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