Industrial Relations Minister Richard Della-Riva is reported as having rejected the claim that the largely female community services workforce is significantly underpaid.
The arguments being used suggest that the Victorian Government just isn’t interested in getting equal pay for Victorian women.
For example, the Victorian Government argues that it is the fault of women in the community services sector that they don’t do as well as women doing the same work in the government sector.
In fact, it is the fault of governments who are funding services.
- Governments know community sector employers cannot pass the costs of increased wages onto their elderly and disabled clients.
- They know the employees in the sector can be made to do without real wage increases year after year because they care about their clients.
- They know that this doesn’t apply to big public service departments.
- They know the work outside the public services isn’t being properly valued, and they know that the people who are losing out are overwhelmingly women.
The fact is, they don’t care.
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