Strike meeting at Victorian Trades Hall, 12 pm, Wednesday, May 10, marching on Parliament

Public disability carers/support workers from across Victoria will take strike action tomorrow to protest against the Victorian Government’s privatisation of Victorian public disability services and their refusal to enter into serious negotiations over job security and improvements to wages and conditions.

Health and Community Services Union State Secretary (HACSU), Lloyd Williams, said: “negotiations for a new enterprise agreement for Victoria’s 5,000 DHHS disability support workers had been extraordinarily difficult, with Government threatening workers with privatisation.”

“Workers have been forced to bargain for job security because the Andrews Government has announced it is abandoning its election promise and will go ahead with privatisation, ” Lloyd Williams said.

“we have been repeatedly misled and lied to b the government, the information provided to the workforce and families of people with disabilities living in public services has also been disingenuous. The Government has failed to address any of our major claims on job security, wages and conditions.”

Mr Williams said the HACSU claim was aimed at stabilising the disability workforce, ensuring qualified and experienced staff were retained within the new disability services system, providing quality support to Victoria’s most vulnerable citizens.

“The reality is that the Government’s privatisation agenda has created enormous uncertainty across the sector. Disability workers are facing a choice between pay cuts or leaving the sector. If the Andrews Government privatises public disability services, it is likely we will see a mass exodus of skilled and experienced workers, at the same time the workforce needs to triple to meet the demands of the NDIS.

Public sector disability services have always been a leader in quality services provision. All this Government seems interested in is cutting costs and quality, and if possible removing public disability services as a service choice. That seems to be what the Andrews Government wants as their legacy.”

Visual opportunities:

hundreds of people a marching on parliament

People with disabilities and their families addressing crowd

Anti-Daniel Andrews protesters

For media enquiries please contact Elizabeth Doidge on 0417 549 666