Support Community Workers Equal Pay Rally 10 June

There will be rallies in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, Darwin and many regional areas to protest women in full time paid work still earning 18 per cent less on average than men, which equates to $1 million less over a lifetime.

The brochure I picked up at the Warrandyte Neighbourhood House today said:

“The ASU’s Community Services Equal Pay Campaign has been described as important as the equal pay campaign for women campaign in 1969 and the 1982 nurses dispute. Why? Because currently women in the community services sector earn 17% less than a man and much of this has to do with the fact that female dominated industries, like community services, are not valued in monetary terms in the same way as male dominated industries.

Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick sums up the importance of the campaign well…’We believe it’s in the longterm interest of this nation to sort this issue out and for us to have a community and social services sector with an appropriately dealt with, highly professional workforce…

The ASU has been campaigning for equal pay for community sector workers for over 3 years…talking about the high turnover in the sector and the need to get real about sector sustainability..

So, are we there yet? Fair Work Australia will hear our case for equal pay and is likely to make a decision in the latter part of 2010. It is our hope that like Queensland’s community sector workers, we will be successful in achieving substantial pay increases. In the case of Queensland increases were up to 37%.

But more needs to happen: We need to put pressure on the Federal and State Government to fund any increase awarded by Fair Work Australia..”

Rally Details

SYDNEY Town Hall, George Street, Sydney

BRISBANE Emma Miller Place, Roma Street Parklands

MELBOURNE Federation Square, opposite Flinders St Station

PERTH Solidarity Park, opposite Parliament House

CANBERRA Outside Legislative Assembly, London Circuit, Civic

ADELAIDE Pioneer Women’s Memorial Gardens, behind Government House

DARWIN Rain Tree Park, Smith Street Mall

For info about events in regional areas including Lismore, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Moranbah and Alice Springs, please see: http://www.asu.asn.au/sacs/payup.html

For More Info contact Linda White, ASU Assistant National Secretary: 0419 507 809 or lwhite@asu.asn.au
or Zoe Porter 0423 377 567

For more on the ASU campaign for equal pay go to http://www.payup.org.au