Angela Carr, an Australian Services Union (ASU) delegate and Socialist Alliance member, told Green Left Radio on 3CR that the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) proposed changes to the award would take workers backwards.
Carr knows how undervalued the community services sector is; she has worked in it for 20 years, in a range of areas. She currently works in family violence.
The ASU is campaigning for the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award to be modernised, given that it has not been changed in 30 years.
The union initiated a case in the FWC in April to address the shortfalls.
ASU national secretary Emeline Gaske said that achieving real change would “require collaboration and government backing”.
However, in a directions hearing on October 20, Justice Adam Hatcher, FWC president, didn’t seem interested in that approach.
The FWC has provided a provisional classification structure for the award that it said upgrades the sector’s undervaluation and promotes gender pay equity.
But Carr said the FWC’s suggestions would remove important parts of the old award, including the Equal Remuneration Order (ERO), which the union fought hard to win in 2012.
Removing the ERO would “impact people working in services for First Nations people, disability, homelessness, family violence and family services,” Carr said. “It would mean a cut in pay for up to 74% of workers in the sector.”
Under the provisional system, no consideration would be given to lived experience, or long-standing industry experience, Carr said.
“That means that someone with diploma qualifications, 20 years in the industry and lived experience of disadvantage, would not be paid at the same rate as someone that holds university qualifications. In the social work sector, a large portion of workers fall into the former category.”
Carr said while qualifications are important, “university does not prepare people for the reality of social work, whereas lived experience does”.
Sally McManus, as ASU Secretary, led a historic two-year equal pay campaign, winning equal pay for workers across the sector in 2012. The campaign focused on the systemic undervaluing of women-dominated sectors, highlighting that there had been no improvements to pay. It was considered a groundbreaking campaign, as at least 150,000, mostly women, workers were awarded 19–41% pay rises. Government funding was earmarked to address the historic gendered undervaluation of community service workers.
“The ASU led that groundbreaking campaign to ensure equal pay for workers in our sector, where 90% are women,” Carr said. “The equal pay campaign was a really important step to bring our wages up to a liveable standard and more in line with the wages of male-dominated industries.
“From 2012 through to 2020, we received pay rises each year, with some workers receiving a 40% pay rise, leading to the wages we have today.”
Carr said analysis by UNSW associate professor Natasha Cortis showed that if the FWC proceeds with its provisional reclassification plan, 10–20% of all job roles in the sector would face a wage cut.
“That means about 73% would lose pay, 46% would lose more than $200 a week and, shockingly, about 11% of workers could lose over $500 a week.
“Workers in financial support, emergency relief, family violence and community legal positions would be particularly hard hit — predominantly held by women.”
The ASU’s national campaign, which included a national day of action on October 23, is demanding the FWC not cut equal pay protections.
The FWC is holding meetings to review feedback — particularly the substantial amendments put forward by the ASU to ensure that no worker’s pay, current or future, goes backwards.
The ASU is planning more campaign action before the holiday shutdown, with delegates meeting to discuss this on November 13.