Baillieu urged to fund equal pay for disability sector

The Baillieu Government must agree to meet the outcome of the equal pay case for disability and community workers, Mary Bluett told a rally for pay equity today.

Workers and unions including the AEU rallied outside the Victorian State Library and marched on Parliament House to keep the pressure on, as the Federal Government beat a retreat over the case before Fair Work Australia.

Unions were furious at the Government's original submission to the FWA, which had suggested the authority should consider the Government's deficit in making any award. But a follow-up letter from Workplace Minister Chris Evans has made clear it supports the case and that the deficit is no reason to award workers less than they deserve.

Unions including the AEU and ASU brought the case — with Federal Government support — arguing that staff in the community, social and disability sectors are underpaid compared to professions that require similar skills and qualifications, because the workforce is largely female.

Ms Bluett welcomed the move from Canberra, but told today's rally: "While the message has now finally got to the Federal Government, we have particularly in this sector, in this state, someone in there [state parliament] who needs to hear the message.

"The previous state government committed to funding the outcome of the pay equity case. We need Ted Baillieu today to come out and say a Baillieu Government will fund the case and give equity to those who have been denied it for so long."

Equal pay rally McGlynn [p1000019.jpg] Despite rain, campaigners whistled, chanted and danced their way up Bourke Street to Parliament House.

Among the AEU members was Ron McGlynn, who manages a literacy program at a large Geelong disability service. He said he was now seeking a move back into schools because he could no longer afford to work in disability.

"We deliver state accredited literacy courses that are exactly like those delivered at school level. But I get paid $50,000. If I worked in a school I'd get paid $80,000, with 12 weeks' leave instead of six and I'd have to coordinate 20 students instead of 100.

"We do amazing things for people with disabilities — the fact that we have 100 [students] is recognition of that. But my family can't afford for me to stay."

TAFE member Karen Milgrom also joined the rally, to support her NMIT community welfare services students who will work in the sector when they graduate.

"We all come from the sector. We can see how badly paid it is. My students are going to go into the sector and they're going to be exploited, and that makes me really angry."

See more pictures from the rally on our Flickr stream.

More on the Equal Pay case here.