ADHC pay discrimination 8 March 2016 (PDF version)

International Women’s Day disgrace – Disability & Home Care workers in 400% pay discrimination fight

Workers in the Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC), a predominantly female workforce, is being forced to accept a transfer package to the private sector that is almost four hundred percent less than that granted to male dominated areas.

The Public Service Association (PSA), the union that covers the workers has been in negotiations with the Government for some time to secure similar transfer conditions and protections that were afforded to privatised male dominated industries.

The PSA was not prepared to accept the vastly inferior terms proposed by the Government: a maximum 8 week transfer payment with no protection of conditions while Sydney Ferries and the Power industry, largely male workforces, received 30 weeks as part of a legally enforceable deed that cannot be changed by a future employer.

“The Baird Government is privatising the entire Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care under the guise of the NDIS and depriving thousands of the most disadvantaged in our society of a choice of provider and in some cases in regional areas, removing the service completely,” said PSA Assistant General Secretary, Steve Turner.

“The Home Care Service was the first to go and now the rest of the Department are in the Government’s sights.”

“The Government are grinding down the conditions of the highly experienced largely female workforce in order to make the organisation as lean as possible before the sale.”

“If successful, this will be the template for privatisation that will be rolled out right across NSW with regards to every public service with the community to pay the price with cost driven low budget services.”