Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

HACSU - DISABILITY WORKERS RECOMMENCE STRIKE ACTION

Disability Support Professionals will walk off the job at Plenty Residential Services today after further enterprise bargaining talks with the State Government over the last week failed to resolve the dispute. HACSU had previously postponed the action to allow the talks to occur.
Plenty Residential Services has 24 units, providing accommodation and intensive support for over 100 residents who have profound intellectual and physical disabilities.
'The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) have met with the Department of Human Services in the Industrial Relations Commission 9 times over the last week,' State Secretary Lloyd Williams said today. 'The Union has been working hard to resolve this dispute but the government is still refusing to make a serious offer, so we are forced to take strike action again.'
Disability support staff will form a picket outside Plenty Residential Services from 7 am tomorrow morning. This will be followed by a 4 hour stoppage on Wednesday at Sandhurst Training Centre and all Community Residential Units in the City of Greater Bendigo and at the Colanda Training Centre in Colac.
HACSU is campaigning for a 6% per annum pay rise, improved career structures matched to better training standards and additional resources to deal with workloads in order to provide clients with greater individualised support.
'Disability workers are paid up to 17% less than their counterparts with similar qualifications in Victoria’s public health and welfare services and over 20% of the workforce is casual, which leads to lower continuity of care,' Mr Williams said. 'If the government is serious about caring for some of Victoria's most vulnerable - people with an intellectual disability – then an offer above 3.25% will have to be made.'
In 2006, the Victorian Government reformed all State legislation covering Victorians with a disability, claiming this would significantly improve their lives. However, in a damning report on disability services in Victoria released this year, the Auditor General said significant issues remain unaddressed, that funding and work arrangements did not allow for staff to care for residents individually and that Services report major difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified staff.

Strike and Protest Action:

Tuesday 29th April:

Melbourne Metro - Plenty Residential Service - Bundoora. Picket Protest outside PRS from 7am. (Melway Ref 10 D:7 – Via Ormond Bvd from Plenty Rd Bundoora)

Wednesday 30th April:
Bendigo - Sandhurst Training Centre and all Community Residential Units in the City of Greater Bendigo. Picket Protest outside Sandhurst Centre from 7am. (32-38 Finn St, Bendigo)

Colac - Colanda Training Centre, Colac. Protest Picket outside Colanda Training Centre, 7am. (Forest St, Colac).

 


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