ASU looks for equal pay

Northern Rivers community services workers and supporters staged a protest rally in Magellan Street, Lismore, over the equal pay issue. Jacklyn Wagner

DESPITE being a small union, 200 Australian Services Union (ASU) members turned out in Lismore yesterday to support equal pay.

ASU NSW Branch secretary Sally McManus said the Lismore rally ‘went really well’ and that the workers had received plenty of community support.

“We’re hoping to send a really strong message to the State Government, and let Barry O’Farrell and the NSW Opposition know they should support us if they want us to support them in the election,” she said.

Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell is supporting the fair pay of community service workers in not-for-profit and non-government organisations, and said their pay should be on par with those employed by the government.

“Whether they work with children, the homeless or those with drug and alcohol issues, they deserve to be paid a proper wage,” Cr Dowell said.

“We have a lot of those workers here in our community.”

Cr Dowell said while the fair pay case was being heard in court, the voices of ordinary people also needed to be heard.

“I think it needs everyone in the community to speak up about this,” she said.

“We put the lives of some of our most vulnerable community members in the hands of workers who are underpaid for the value of work that they do.”

Rallies also took place in Canberra and Sydney yesterday with a further 2200 members, and Ms McManus said it was an opportunity for all parties to come to the table and ensure the work of community service workers was properly remunerated.

“We now need to know where the Premier sits on the issue. She needs to decide whether she will support the attitude of some employer groups or support community workers and the invaluable role they play in society,” she said.

Ms McManus said the pay gap between sexes was also contributing to lower pay for workers.

“This is a sector dominated by women, and when the pay gap between men and women sits at 18 per cent, denying this sector a wage increase is effectively denying women access to equal pay,” she said.