Help us stop the largest ever privatisation of a Government service in NSW

The PSA is seeking your support in stopping the largest ever privatisation of a Government service in NSW.

The State Government has decided that it will completely withdraw from the delivery of disability or home care services.

It plans to kick this off in 2015, and if it gets its way, by 2018 it will have completed a full scale privatisation of the remainder of disability services.

This means that there will be:

• No state run residences for people with disability

• No support services provided by the NSW Government for people who live in their own home

• No respite services provided by the NSW Government for carers for people with disability.

• It won’t just be an ill equipped non-government sector that will take over these vital services.

VirginCare, Moran and SERCO are just a few of the for profit corporations that could enter this service field.

The privatisation of these services in NSW is high risk.

It exposes clients and staff to a number of threats which will magnify if federal funding of the scheme falls off or does not keep pace with demand.

The threats to staff include:

• the casualisation of the workforce

• loss of jobs, pay and conditions; and

• the introduction of too many low paid, part time jobs with short hours of work.

Threats to clients include:

• the loss of skills and experience from the sector

• the inability to remain with their current provider of choice (i.e. ADHC)

• ever changing low skilled and inexperienced staff to address their needs

• lack of stable accommodation

• domination of the industry by “for profit” providers that will put money before service to clients

• lack of regulatory oversight for quality assurance.

The PSA is fighting back.

The PSA has started a petition demanding that the NSW Government retain a role in the delivery of disability and home care services and that it avoids a workforce crisis in the sector by protecting employee pay, conditions and job security.

Click HERE to access the petition.

We ask that you print and circulate the petition to your work colleagues, family and friends.

Note: we must have original signatures on the petition, no photocopies, faxes or email.

Collect as many signatures as you can and post the petition to Valerie Morales at:

Public Service Association of NSW GPO Box 3365 Sydney NSW 2001 by Friday, 29 August 2014

 

Authorised by Steve Turner, Acting General Secretary, Public Service Association of NSW, 160 Clarence Street, Sydney