ASU brings wage fight to Canberra

Community and disability workers are calling on Parliament to recognise their Skilled, Respected, Equal campaign for a wage increase that aligns with the skills needed in the sector.

After filing a 35 per cent wage increase with the Fair Work Commission in June and achieving an updated classification structure that will take effect in October 2027, the Australian Services Union has progressed its fight for community and disability worker pay equity to Parliament.

According to the union, 42 sector employees will appear in Canberra to seek the federal government’s support for the landmark work value claim, composed of youth workers, family violence workers, and homelessness support workers.

ASU national secretary Emeline Gaske said: “Just as the Albanese government supported community and disability workers earlier in the year, we’re now calling for the government to support our work value case.”

“This is unfinished business for the government, the job is not yet done.

“We won important protections earlier this year, closing the homecare wage theft loophole and stopping pay cuts for this workforce. But that decision didn’t fix the underlying problem: this is still a highly skilled, overwhelmingly female workforce that has been underpaid and undervalued for decades.”

Despite often holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the union found that cost-of-living pressures and higher service demand are increasing rates of family violence and homelessness faced by workers in the sector.

Further, almost a third of community and disability workers borrowed money from family or friends to cover essential costs, and 13 per cent have skipped meals for financial reasons.

ASU research also revealed that approximately 40 per cent of workers are considering leaving the sector within the next 12 months, with turnover rates five times higher than the national average.

“These workers are coming to Parliament House because they know their work has changed beyond recognition since 2012, and their pay hasn’t kept up,” Gaske said.

“Community and disability workers are here today to tell their own MPs what that means in practice. It means colleagues leaving the sector, workers skipping meals to make ends meet, and growing demands on a sector struggling to retain skilled workers.”

The union characterised the work value claim as the next chapter in the same fight for gender equity in what is a historically undervalued workforce.

Gaske said: “Backing this workforce and supporting it properly would do a tremendous amount to further advance gender equity in this country.”

The FWC case will rely on the Albanese government’s Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022.

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