Nurses, police, firefighters and other frontline workers stopped worked today to attend the rally, turning Macquarie Street into a sea of flags and banners.
A group of up to 12,000 people chanted "Back off Barry" and "Two, four, six eight, Barry O'Farrell you have no mandate".
They were also holding banners that read: "Barry O'Farrell workers' rights are human rights".
NSW president of the Fire Bridge Employees union, Darin Sullivan, addressed hundreds of firefighters from the top of a fire truck outside St Mary's Cathedral.
"We don't take this sort of action often," he told the gathering.
"We've left ourselves a lot of room to escalate should we need to, this is just the first step."
Ranks were swollen by stonemasons, port workers and other public sector employees who marched from the Opera House. O'Farrell's controversial industrial relations changes are expected to be debated by the lower house this week, possibly as early as tonight, after they were passed by the NSW upper house yesterday.
Politicians, mayors and possibly magistrates could also have their pay rises capped at 2.5 per cent, as the government attempts to dilute criticism of its crackdown on the wages of nurses, teachers and firefighters.
The government bill strips the NSW Industrial Relations Commission of its powers to set wages and conditions for all frontline public servants.
The group marching from the Opera House were carrying red and while CFMEU banners and chanting: "What do we want, fair wages, when do we want it, now!"
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