Government backs social sector pay rise

Updated

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will support an equal pay claim that will boost salaries for workers in the community sector by around $12,000 a year to bring their pay into line with average wages.

The increase will cost the Federal Government $2 billion, but a hit to the budget bottom line will be avoided by not introducing it until late next year and phasing it in over six years.

Speaking to community workers in Sydney amid cheers and applause today, Ms Gillard said "it is time you got equal pay".

She said people who worked in women's refuges, disability support centres, homes for the mentally ill, as well as those who counsel victims of sexual assault all deserved better pay.

"More than three-quarters of you are women. Nearly two-thirds of you have an industry qualification compared to just over half in other industries," she said.

"But your average full-time wage is just over $46,000 per year compared to around $58,000 for all working Australians.

"[There is] a gender-driven pay gap which sees, for example, a disability support worker with a tertiary qualification who supervises five staff get paid less than $38,000 a year.

"You have above-average qualifications, you get below-average pay."

Ms Gillard said the funding arrangements in the sector were complex and involved local, state and territory governments, not-for-profit organisations, commercial providers and the Commonwealth.

She said all had to pay their share.

"This case creates an opportunity for governments and unions, employees and providers to put our heads together, to agree on a fair value and of course to agree on where the money will come from," Ms Gillard said.

Of the 150,000 workers in the sector, 120,000 are women; Fair Work Australia has already found that their work is undervalued because of gender considerations.

Interactive chart: Male vs female earnings over time

Slide left and right to view changes in the data over time.

Click anywhere to lock or unlock.

(Source: ABS Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, Australia, Aug 2010)

More charts: Australia, a nation transformed

'Historic' promise

Ms Gillard gave an example of evidence given to Fair Work Australia by a social worker she called Natalie.

"Natalie helps people who are mentally ill, children and young people needing out-of-home care and people living with a disability," she said.

"She helps them learn to live independently when they move from long-term hospital-based care to community-based living.

"Natalie is currently paid $41,648 per year. When fully implemented, her fair pay will be around $55,000 in today's dollars."

Ms Gillard's pledge to back the pay claim lodged by the Australian Services Union (ASU) has been warmly welcomed by the sector.

YWCA executive director Caroline Lambert described the pledge as "historic", saying it would help community organisations retain their staff.

"It's a better economic outcome for us. We invest money into training our staff and have seen them walking out of the door because they're not being paid enough," she told ABC radio news.

"We're really hopeful that this is going to mean that we can keep our staff longer and build up their skills."

The Australian Council of Social Services, which represents community organisations, has strongly backed the case, calling it a "breakthrough" and urging state and territory governments to pay their share of the cost.

ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie says the rise is "long overdue".

"The funding must be made available to ensure that an increase in wages do not lead to job losses or reductions in services," she said.

Topics: federal-government, carers, community-and-society, government-and-politics, australia

First posted