SACS Workers Say Respect The Workers Sustain The Services

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ASU Reportback on November 10 Rally

Respect SACS Workers Legislative Assembly Petition

Respect SACS Workers Legislative Council Petition

Register for the Next Respect Campaign Forum December 10

Edited Class Actions Report

Terry Costello

Today Class Actions will be covering the Respect the Workers – Sustain the Services campaign of Victorian Social And Community Services workers who comprise the SACS division of the Australian Services Union. The term SACS stands for the Social and Community Services and involves community organizations such as Community Legal Centres and other non Government Organisations that provide health and community services to the community. The SACs Division of the Australian Services Union is currently involved in a ground breaking National campaign that aims to Respect SACs workers by improving wages and conditions so that SAC’s workers pay and conditions of work have parity with Public Sector workers who perform similar work.

For decades Social and Community Services or  SACS workers important contribution to the communities they serve has been chronically under valued and under funded by successive state governments, both Labor & Liberal. Successive state governments have been obsessed with the cult of celebrity and have splurged taxpayers money on Corporate Bread and Circus events such as the Grand Prix and the recent Tiger Woods 3.5 Million Dollar Golf junket.  However at the same time State Governments  have restricted the funding of community organizations that provide valuable services needed by the most vulnerable members of society. SACs workers campaign to gain Parity with the public sector as opposed to charity in the form of unsustainably low wages involved a rally of over 4000 SACs workers held at  Parliament House on November 10 2009.  

SACs workers in Victoria have been campaigning for parity for nearly eighteen months without success. ASU SACS DivisionAssistant Secretary Lisa Darmanin explained to 3CR’s Solidarity Breakfast program the achievement of Queensland’s SACs workers which have given their Victorian comrades new hope

Lisa Darmanin Victorian ASU Assistant Secretary SACS Division Solidarity Breakfast

Yes in May this year  Queensland  Social and Community Service Workers  were awarded  between 18 and  37 percent  wage increases by their state industrial commission and that as a result  from some campaigning and  arguing that they should be  receiving equal pay  with their public  sector counterparts  which is what we have also been campaigning  around in Victoria for a long time.

Terry Costello

The Queensland Industrial Relations Commissioner Fitzgerald in his groundbreaking judgement which awarded Queensland SACs workers parity with their public service counterparts said “ the altruism and reluctance to take industrial action is assumed in government funding models.” Presumably from this quote the willingness of Queensland SACs workers to become industrially active and organized was a big factor behind their stunning victory. SACS workers across Australia are now looking to replicate the Queensland victory in a National campaign. A central tenet of the SACS claim is that SACS workers want Parity with the pay and conditions of Public Sector workers - not charity. Victorian ASU SACs Division  has received support from SACs workers in other states as the Secretary of the Victorian ASU SACs Division  Brian Parkinson  explained at the Respect the Services Sustain the workers rally held on November 10 2009.

Brian Parkinson  Victorian Secretary ASU SACS Division

I have another one here from on behalf of the South Australian  ASU the  branch and officials and members  of SACS wish  the Victorian ASU  members all the  very best with  their rally. Stand with you  in your actions  and hope our joint  activities can achieve  results for union members across the rest of the  country just  as they did in Queensland . There is a  rally going on in South Australia  as we speak with the ASu and then finally finally there is also a message  of solidarity from  on behalf of all Trade Union members and workers in the Solomon Islands . We would like  to express our support  and solidarity for the ASU respect the worker campaign for  pay  equity for community  service workers  so again  its not just necessarily on our shores its  across our shores To the members up there thanks for coming stay with us we  will stick together and win it thankyou

Terry Costello

The critical factors behind the victory of SACs workers in Queensland were

“workers joined the union, members of the union became active and encouraged  their work mates to become involved and ASU members lobbied government. The union made it clear that not only did workers deserve better but that the community deserved better”

For Victorian SACS workers to win Parity they will need to emulate the efforts of Queensland SACs workers.

The respect the workers sustain the services campaign pamphlet states the aims of the campaign which are to gain

“ * Upto a 50% wage increase for Community Sector workers by 2012

• 18 weeks paid parental leave at full pay
• Portability of Long Service Leave  within the Community Sector
• Improved Occupational Health & Safety

By implementing these 4 changes  Community Sector workers will have wages and conditions on par with Public Sector workers”

Currently Victorian SACS workers are paid anywhere from “$40 to $650 per week less than their counterparts with the same or similar qualifications employed in Public Health or employed directly by government” Turnover of workers in the SACS sector is approximately 20% per annum which is nearly double the average turnover rate. The services provided by the Community services sector to vulnerable members of the community cannot be sustained unless SACs workers win parity instead of having to endure charity. Lisa Darmanin from the ASU SACS Sector explains to 3CR’s Solidarity Breakfast presenters Lisa Farrance & Karlene the implications of low wages in the SACs Sector

Solidarity Breakfast October 31^st 2009

Lisa Farrance

You just mentioned  I think a very important point  how the ambos and also nurses  have had to fight really hard  to get equal recognition  for their work what are some of the examples  of some of the things that  you are campaigning around. What  are some of the difficulties that those working  in the community sector  currently face.

Lisa Darmanin Victorian ASU Assistant Secretary SACS Division Solidarity Breakfast

Well the biggest difficulty is because  of the poor wages  there is a gap  of about 15,000  per annum  for someone doing the same work  as our members in the public sector  so the biggest difficulty  for members in the industry  is keeping staff and having to battle that constant churn there is a really high turnover  becasue the young workers who are  coming in just graduating  from uni are not hanging around so the effect that that has on people left in the workpalce  is higher workload more stressful where the ability to be able  to make the substantial change  in the work that  they do declines is affected so its around workload stress burnout and also  coupled with that the increase in  demand on the kind of work The Global Financial Crisis has meant  that there has been an increase on the demand  on the work that our members do  and when you've got pressures on staffing that just becomes a bit of a  perfect storm.

Carlene Wilson

These are people who are dealing  at the real coalface  of the most stressed and  most vulnerable people in our society aren't they  so

Lisa Darmanin Victorian ASU Assistant Secretary SACS Division Solidarity Breakfast

Yes the kind of work is really varied but people  who are dealing with homelessness  drug and  alcohol addiction  mental health problems in the community who women escaping domestic violence  and then the bushfire recovery alot of our members  have been called  on to do additional work  in the important bushfire  recovery so  its when people are at their worst they need our  members and they need them at their best so we really  need to do something about the funding  so that we can keep good workers in the sector

Carlene Wilson

I think that it is a really significant point that its not about the money per se its about what that means in terms of workloads and all the other stresses in the workplace that make it really difficult  to  actually do your job properly I think .

Terry Costello

The SACS sector employs predominantly women and it is evident that the low pay rates paid to SACS workers are based on gender  and are discriminatory as speakers from the November 10 Respect  the Workers sustain the services rally explain

Respect The Workers Sustain The Services Rally November 10 2009

Our campaign respect the workers sustain the services is about  being recognised  properly for the work we do  in the community sector across Australia  90 percent of the three hundred  thousand strong  community sector work force  is made up of women. It is just plain insulting that in 2009 caring for the most vulnerable in our society  seems not seen as being a genuine career    and Australian governments  have valued it accordingly with  low wages and sub standard  conditions  our workforce might  be dominated by women  but that does not  mean we are going to play our old gender stereotype  that we are the carers and nurturers of society and we  will provide cut price  or free services to all. We provide  services to people in our community  from the cradle to the grave. Society has moved on from  1850  when only the wives of rich men  could afford to  deliver welfare services however with  the kind of wages we get it seems as though  the government is yet to catch on  to this concept  In order  to get any civilised  discussion  with this government we have to  take them  kicking and screaming to the negotiating table. We do important and essential work and we have to be  highly qualified to do so  just because the majority of us are women  does not mean we  are a soft target and we are going to accept this  state of affairs without a fight. Applause

Shane

I put to Mr Brumby that we  can't survive on what we are getting paid now. Successive  Victorian governments  have relied on the  fact that the SACS sector  is made up of  predominantly women workers  the women are  natural born carers  and even if they  are paid peanuts  well they'll do their job anyway that is  how it has been for government for government forever. Lets put a stop to this now  let em know next door  that we aren't going away  there is an election next year  and we've got a big voice let them know guys  we aren't going away - applause

Terry Costello

It is estimated that the cost to the Victorian State Government of providing parity to SACS workers so that their salaries are on a par with their Public Sector counterparts is approximately 200 Million dollars per year. Money which could be easily found if the funding of Corporate circuses such as the Grand Prix was curtailed

Respect The Workers Sustain The Services Rally November 10 2009

Money gets wasted by the government every day instead of being invested in our sector  to ensure that services  workers and clients get  resourced well enough to be sustained. millions of dollars  have been wasted by the Brumby government  on things like the Grand Prix  which loses  Victorians money year after expensive year 10 million dollars given to the losing bidder of the desal tender 3 million dollars spent to get Tiger Woods  to play golf here. The money is obviously available  imagine if some of that money came to us so that we could  do our work properly and fund our sector  services and get a fair days pay for what is usually  alot more than a fair days work. applause

Terry Costello

Today Class Actions is covering the Australian Services Union’s SACS Division’s Respect the Workers and sustain the Services campaign. Part of the SACS Division Respect the Workers, Sustain the Services campaign sadly involves the sellout ACTU launching a case in the unfair pay Commission. The unfair pay Commission are the same punters who awarded the princely sum of zero dollars to Australia’s lowest paid workers earlier this year in its unfair pay decision. The ACTU which is the Union Officials union has a woeful track record when it comes to acting in the best interests of rank and file workers. For starters it was the ACTU who assisted in the deregistration of the BLF, It was the ACTU who brought you the Accord and Award restructuring in the 1980’s, it was the ACTU who sold out the MUA in 1998, it was the ACTU who  marginalized militant unionism and militant unionists, the ACTU has not defied anti union laws of the Howard government and now Rudd government and Federal parliament is a retirement home for its failed officials. The ACTU is more intent on bunging its own into parliament and getting the ALP elected than standing up for the pay & conditions and human rights of working people. SACS workers should be very very wary of the ACTU involvement in their campaign as essential conditions such as penalty rates, sick leave and other important conditions may be at risk of being bargained away at the altar of the unfair pay commission.

Whilst the SACS workers are fighting for parity with Public Sector Workers they still face attacks to their conditions under the watchful eye of former comrade and now Commissar Julia Gillard who is in charge of the Rudd Government’s Award “Modernization” attack on working conditions which could result in the conditions of SACS workers declining further instead of improving as SACS worker and Principal Solicitor of the Moreland Community Legal Service Chris Ryan explains.

Chris Ryan 

Terry Can I just say one thing in a very demure way. The SACS award sucks.

If you are talking about  the award modernisation  courtesy of  Julia and the Fair Pay Commission you are  talking about Award modernisation  in 2009. If it comes in in 2010 this is what award modernisation  consists of Penalty rates out the door. Salary sacrifice for low paid workers  out the door. Sick leave  down to 10 days Atrocious Atrocious.

This is what Award modernisation is and that is why we are fighting today.

Now what we are really hoping for  is to unite as a whole  sector the SAC  sector and at least  try to get one big EBA  throughout the sector that is as rock  solid as you could get an EBA  to be and if we  are united in doing that  that will be a great achievement. If we are united in doing that it will be a great achievement

Terry Costello

The under funding of the SACS sector is acutely felt in Community Legal Centres which provide legal advice, legal aid and assistance to those in the community who cannot financially afford conventional legal services offered by Private Sector lawyers. Being equal before the law involves all citizens having access to the law and Community Legal Centres play a vital role in providing access to the law and equality before the law. SACS worker and Principal Solicitor of the Moreland Community Legal Service Chris Ryan explains the implications, chronic under funding of the Moreland Community Legal Service has on its operation.

Chris Ryan

At my workplace we don't  have full time admin we are trying to run a Legal Practice  we don't  have full time admin  we had one  lawyer two days a week cut back to one.  Funding for my job at my rate is not guaranteed beyond 12 months.  This is the nature of Legal Centres . It’s a trickle down effect from Legal Aid. Legal Aid itself  internally are not  particularly well funded  but it  is a trickle down effect by the time  it gets  to the Community Legal Centres  its  even worse at least  the Legal Aid offices have full time admin workers but we don't, on Friday when  Gordana over here  is not there its really  difficult for us  we have volunteer law students  on the phones and dealing with difficult clients  coming through  the door who have  little experience with that sort of stuff so  its just  basic essentials  that’s all we  are after. We’re not after the world.

Terry Costello

The chronic underfunding of the Moreland Community legal centre is typical of the underfunding experienced in many Community Legal Centres as well as many other organizations across the Services and Community Sector as a whole.

Laura Vivarini the Manager of the Moreland Community legal Service explains her frustration at the way workers in the Services and Community Sector are treated and is not pleased at the prospect of having to endure award “modernization”.

Laura Vivarini

Terry Costello

The Community relies heavily on services provided by SACS workers.  A speaker  at the Respect the Workers Sustain the Services rally held on November 10 made the point that the current chronic under funding of the SACS sector and low wages is unsustainable and that SACS workers have had enough.

Respect The Workers Sustain The Services Rally November 10 2009

Without us both the broader community  and the government would feel the weight  of the responsibilities of what we do  daily because without us the pieces that  we pick up  every day would become their problem  overnight. I've worked in the community sector for around 12 years  I've had enough of being paid crap wages attacked applause

These crap wages are attached to short term funding and other limitations  such as no paid parental leave or portable long service leave or decent OHS standards for the kind of work  we do. Things that make it hard for all of us  to deliver the best services  and also  plan for our futures like many people  in other fields of work can do readily.  There is only one way we are going to see ourselves being paid properly in line with others in our community  and that is if we stand together and say no more of this Mr Brumby pay us properly. Applause 

Terry Costello

The Respect the Workers Sustain the Services rally held on November 10 2009 was attended by 4000 SACs workers dressed in a sea of Red. One of the highlights of the rally was the deafening din made by protesters on the steps of parliament house which was in session. The din made by SACs  workers  was well and truly heard by the good Burghers inside the parliament building. Another highlight of the rally involved the 4000 SACS workers asking Mr Brumby for equal pay.

Respect The Workers Sustain The Services Rally November 10 2009

I want you to imagine that  Mr Brumby is standing right here with Mr Lenders and they are coming out to decide right here right  now whether they are going to fund this sector properly  and they are  going to decide that  depending on how loud you are. So I'm  going to ask you the question as if he is going to ask you the question and then you are going  to tell him like you mean it. Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you really ready?

Alright My name  is Mr Brumby. Why are you here today. We are here today for equal pay.

My name is Mr Lenders and I'm the state treasurer Why are you here

We are here today for equal pay.

Its not going to be enough for a few of us to make a fuss to create change. It was not a few nurses and it was not a few construction workers who made a fuss about their wages and conditions. It was the vast majority who did, and look what a difference it made to them and their industries   

Chris Ryan

I mean I think what we could hope  for is  this campaign has been going for  2 years but this is the first big rally  now what we are really hoping for  is to unite as a whole  sector the SAC  sector and at least  try to get one big EBA  throughout the sector that is as rock  solid as you could get an EBA  to be and if we  are united in doing that  that will be a great achievement. We are following the nurses and if we could get more or less parity with them  and other public Sector workers like the  DHS or their  new name the Department of Health  if  we could get parity  with them we would be reasonably satisfied at this point in time but that is what we are after we are just after basic conditions.

Terry Costello

That was Chris Ryan SACS worker, ASU Delegate and the Principal Solicitor of the Moreland Community Legal Service who along with 4000 other SACS workers attended the Respect The Workers Sustain the Services rally held at Parliament House on November 10^th 2009. The Next step in the campaign is a meeting of ASU SACS delegates and activists to be held on December 10. It is important that the key decisions concerning the direction of the campaign have the support of rank and file workers and that industrial action in SACS workplaces is given priority over cases being run in the unfair pay commission.

The ASU is also collecting signatures for a petition calling for Wage parity for SACS workers which will be presented to State parliament. A copy of the petition can be downloaded from the ASU and Class Actions page at terrycostello.com. For links to information about The Respect the Workers Sustain the Services rally, log on to the ASU website or log onto the Class Actions page at terrycostello.com where you will also find links to information from previous Class Actions programs. If you have any feedback on this or other Class Actions programs you can send an email to classactions@terrycostello.com