The ongoing industrial action by over 1,100 Department of Human Services (DHS) disability support workers has intensified, as union members escalate their industrial action. The decision comes after months of insufficient progress from the Malinauskas Labor Government on their demands for better pay and conditions.
United Workers Union members have extended their work bans to increase pressure on senior management, including maintaining hardcopy records, and refusing to sign off orientation schedules for new employees and agency staff until they have read all relevant support and behaviour plans.
The campaign for fair and just wages including same job, same pay by disability support workers has already received widespread community support with chalking of hundreds of DHS vans with messages including “Department of Horrific Shortages”. Public action will intensify until the Malinauskas Labor government agrees to pay workers the fair and just wages needed.
DHS currently relies on agency workers to meet minimum staffing levels because low wages prevent DHS from attracting and retaining the support workers needed to provide continuity of support to people with disabilities.
Union members are calling on the Malinauskas Labor government to provide fair and just wages, including same job same pay so they can keep supporting South Australians with disabilities.
Despite the Malinauskas Labor government charging people with disabilities the full NDIS price for support services, workers are being paid significantly below the federal award wage (which NDIS prices are based on).
DHS disability support workers are the lowest paid in Australia, with workers earning at least $5 an hour less then their private and non-for profit sector counterparts.
For Sunday shifts, DHS workers are paid almost $26 per hour less than the private sector counterparts.
Union members are calling on the Malinauskas Labor government to do the right thing and pass on to workers the full wages it charges people with disabilities.
The escalation comes as workers face the realities of an increasingly unaffordable cost of living, which has been compounded by rising housing costs and inflation. Many DHS disability support workers are unable to meet their basic needs while working to support vulnerable individuals across South Australia.
Quotes attributable to Sam Bannon, United Workers Union Delegate and Disability Support Officer:
“The government’s poor wage proposal has forced us to escalate our industrial action.
“Most of my coworkers live pay to pay. We struggle to survive and many of us are working two jobs just to pay the bills. We keep losing good staff because they can’t earn a living wage and they can’t afford to stay at DHS.
“It’s not right that people who work for the government can’t afford new school shoes for their kids, especially when the government is charging the people we support the maximum allowed under the NDIS.
“These are people lives we are supporting. South Australians with disabilities deserve better, and so do we.
“The NDIS is a multi-billion scheme paid for by tax payers, including South Australians. I think the public would be shocked to learn that the South Australian government refuses to pass on the full money it receives for our wages.”
Quotes attributable to Demi Pnevmatikos, United Workers Union South Australian State Secretary and National Public Sector Director:
“Union members are calling on the Malinauskas Labor government to pay their Disability Services Officers a living wage. Without these UWU members, there would be no one supporting people living with the most complex disabilities in our state.
“Under the Malinauskas Labor government, their own Disability Services Officers are the lowest paid in the country. UWU members should be able to come to work and do the important work of supporting our most vulnerable South Australians and be able to keep a roof over their own children’s heads.”
DHS charges the full NDIS price threshold for services, but they are not passing that funding on to the workers who deliver those services. Workers say this discrepancy is driving them to the point of no return, where they can no longer afford to keep working for the government under these conditions and they hold genuine concerns about the future of the service.
With an estimated 1 in 5 Australians living with a disability, these industrial actions serve as a reminder of the urgent need for meaningful reform in how disability support is funded and delivered in South Australia.
Background
From 7 am Saturday 15 March workers began phase 2 of the industrial action. This follows phase 1 bans that began 8 February and have remained in place.
The industrial action includes work bans across 240 houses targeted at management, with workers restricting administrative tasks, limiting communications during unpaid time, and using prominent campaign slogans on DHS vans to raise awareness.
The actions have been carefully designed to ensure clients safety and support will not be compromised. All work bans will continue until an agreement is reached, with workers remaining steadfast in their resolve to secure a fair wage.