FRONTLINE workers caring for people with disability, women escaping violence and children in out-of-home-care will gather in the hundreds this week to rally for change.
The national week of action will be kicked off at the Tram Sheds in Newcastle today (Monday, November 4), followed by rallies in Sydney, the Illawarra and Blue Mountains.
The Social, Community, Home Care & Disability Services (SCHADS) Award hasn't changed in 30 years, the Australian Services Union (ASU) says, leading to a growing number of systemic failings.
At least two-in-three community workers are "under-classified", says ASU NSW & ACT secretary Angus McFarland, so their pay doesn't reflect their duties, skills, experience or qualifications.
"For too long, community and disability support workers have been overworked, undervalued and underpaid," Mr McFarland said.
Workers with more responsibilities, complex workloads, and decades of experience often take-home the same pay as entry-level staff, he said.
That creates financial strain and discourages staff from upskilling, leading to high staff-turnover in an industry which can least afford it.
"People with disabilities, those experiencing domestic violence, and vulnerable children ... deserve a sufficient and skilled workforce to support them," Mr McFarland said.
The issue, highlighted by the Disability Royal Commission which called on the disability sector union to update the award, is emerging as a key campaign for the ASU ahead of the federal election.
Chantel Moffat, a disability support worker from Raymond Terrace who will speak at today's Newcastle rally, said the biggest issue was the lack of career progression and fair pay.
"I have worked in the industry for 20 years, with lots of skills and experience, but within four years people are paid at the same rate," Mrs Moffat said.
"There is no incentive to keep people around, unless you want to go into management, but you don't become a support worker because you want to go into management."
The industry relies on experienced workers to manage people with complex care needs and challenging behaviours which require experience and skills that people new to the industry simply do not have, she said.
"It takes years to develop those sorts of communication and management skills," Mrs Moffat said.
The award reflects none of the changes to the industry since long before the start of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, she said.
The changes the union is pushing for include ensuring employers cannot pay workers a lower rate, in what they call 'wage theft' of NDIS workers.
Some NDIS providers have paid staff as home care workers, which has a lower award rate, pocketing the difference of as much as $9 per hour, the union says.
At the same time, the ASU is joining several other unions in the Fair Work Commission to battle a case they say would create nightmare pay and conditions for sleepover care staff.
Australian Industry Group is leading the move on behalf of three employers who want to re-classify sleepovers as breaks between shifts.
"That would mean employers could roster workers for up to 28 hours of work, including their sleepover, before overtime pay kicks in," Mr McFarland said.
And they want the changes applied retrospectively, dating back to January 2010,.
Workers could face a period of 28 hours away from home, without proper rest, breaks, or penalty rates, Mr McFarland said.
"Workers are away from their families, confined to their workplace, and struggle to get a restful night's sleep," he said.
"They cannot leave freely and are frequently woken up at all hours to support clients in need.
"It's fair and reasonable that sleepover shifts are not currently considered a break between rostered periods. Workers are already feeling burnt out and fatigued nevermind when they have to work longer hours for less pay."
