Community and disability workers rallied across the country on October 23 to demand fair wages.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Fair Work Commission (FWC) want to roll back hard fought equal pay the union won in 2012.
Equal pay increased the wages of workers in the sector by up to 45%. It recognised that women across the industry were underpaid and undervalued for the work they do.
The FWC is proposing to reclassify the award, which would cut the wages of 73% of workers. Next week the FWC will hear a big business lobby group’s plan to cut wages of up to $500 a week for people working to help those experiencing family violence.
This is an attack on women, mainly, because workers in the sector are overwhelmingly female.
[Angela Carr is a member of the Australian Services Union and the Socialist Alliance.]
