Unions and the NSW premier remain in discussions after an unusual blanket wage offer was made for all public sector workers.
The government's 4.5 per cent offer includes a small bump in super and will come into effect next month if accepted by unions.
But it might be a hard sell for some members, with the Health Services Union (HSU) last week flagging health and hospital workers deserved at least 5.75 per cent.
Premier Chris Minns said he hadn't spoken directly to the health union boss, Gerard Hayes, in the past week but was in discussions with other officials across the public sector.
"I've had many conversations with the union leaders in NSW and that's the nature of the Labor Party," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"That would be self-evident - when a Labor administration is in place and there's a Labor premier, you'd expect a lot of talks to take place between the premier and union leaders.
"It's not going to be perfect, but we have shown progress."
Labor took steps on Monday to reform the bargaining process, including reviewing the resourcing at the industrial umpire.
But the looming expiry of several enterprise agreements on June 30 meant a stopgap in the form of a uniform pay offer was needed, Mr Minns said.
"This was the quickest and most efficient way of getting money into the pay packets of essential workers while having a sensible plan to move forward over the next 12 months," he said.
Mr Hayes said members would take a position on it at a state conference in July.
But with inflation at 6.8 per cent and mortgage rates rising nearly every month, 4.0 per cent plus a 0.5 per cent increase in super "doesn't really cover" it.
"Some of our people would be going backwards," the HSU state secretary told AAP on Tuesday.
"The immediate relief that's required isn't there."
He suggested the easiest option for the government would be to raise salary packaging thresholds, an important issue for health workers.
"For some, that's worth 3.5 (per cent) if they can retain their own tax savings," he said. "That's a great way of relieving pressure."
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on Monday defended the offer falling short of inflation, saying NSW's finances were in too poor a state.
If accepted, it would cost $618 million in the first year.
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman called on the treasurer to prioritise the sports voucher scheme Active Kids over "deals with unions".
"Wage increases for public sector workers are important, but they shouldn’t come at the expense of cost-of-living support for families and households who are struggling during these difficult economic times," Mr Speakman said.
