The state government has cancelled a 117th meeting with union leaders scheduled to take place on Thursday, deciding instead refer the matter of public sector wage negotiations to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.
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Premier Will Hodgman said, despite the request unions cease industrial action, unions have escalated action, which was unacceptable.
"They would not even stop those actions for one week to allow the negotiations to take place," Mr Hodgman said.
Corrections officers in Southern Tasmania Prison Service Sites held a two-hour stop work on Tuesday, Health and Community Service Union members walked off the job at the Launceston General Hospital for half an hour on Monday, and Education Facility Attendants have escalated work bans over several weeks to include no rubbish removal from classrooms and no vacuuming.
"Accordingly, there is no purpose in again meeting with union leaders on Thursday," Mr Hodgman said.
"Instead, and with a view to resolving this dispute as soon as possible, the government believes this matter should now be referred to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission for arbitration."
Both Mr Hodgman and Treasurer Peter Gutwein were meant to attend the negotiations.
Community and Public Sector Union general secretary Tom Lynch said as far as he knew union leaders still had a meeting set for 2pm Thursday, as he had not been informed the meeting had been cancelled before the government announced it to the media.
"It does show the contempt the government has for these negotiations," Mr Lynch said.
Mr Lynch said the cancellation of Thursday's meeting was yet another failure of leadership from Mr Hodgman.
"It would have been preferable for the parties to meet and resolve this dispute but he has chosen to squib it," Mr Lynch said.
"Over the past 12 months, we have met with the Hodgman government on 116 occasions that have achieved almost nothing. We did not consider an invitation to meet for the 117th time warranted us ceasing our campaign.
"We have lifted our bans in the past on the promise of real progress only to be disappointed."
Mr Hodgman said on Wednesday he would write to union leaders with draft terms of reference for arbitration so that matter could be independently determined.
"The government is taking this course of action because we will not accept further delays to progressing the now overdue pay rise to our employees, nor the continued disruption that industrial action is causing the Tasmanian community," Mr Hodgman said.
"They are an independent umpire who can settle this matter once and for all."
A government spokesman confirmed the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation had not been included in the referral to the commission as they were the only union to have taken the government's latest 12-month interim offer to their members.