Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yesterday we heard the COLP plans to scrap Labour's portable
long service leave laws for the community services sector. Now.
The scheme would have allowed employees in sectors including childcare,
aged care and disability services to accumulate long service leave
benefits without having to maintain continuous employment with a single employer.
(00:22):
The Minister for Public Service, Joe Hersey said the scheme
was not properly budgeted for, with set up costs alone
estimated to be between four to twelve million dollars, and
the Northern Territory government would have borne the brunt. The
Australian Services Union slammed the colp's decision, warning that it's
going to exasperate workforce retention issues and send the Northern
(00:46):
Territory backwards. Now joining me on the line is the
union's organizing lead for the Northern Territory branch, Dan Spencer.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Good morning, Dan, Good morning Katie. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Dan.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Firstly, can you explain how the portable long service scheme works?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah? Absolutely so. Where As a union and our members
across the territory are really concerned about this decision to
scrap portable long service leave. It's something that workers throughout
the community and disability services sector we're really actually looking
forward to being able to take, and now it's being
taken away. So the way it would work is, you know,
(01:25):
workers in this sector move around a lot often because
of government changes. They might be doing the exact same
job working, for example, in a domestic violence shelter. Employer changes.
This would mean that they'd carry over their long service
leave with them be paid through a central authority with
a small levee on employers, rather than the employers holding
onto the long service leave entitlement on their balance book.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. Right, So I mean I understand, like I understand
that it would also see those employers pay that levy
to a central funder each quarter and employees would have
access their long servicely from that fund. I mean it
sort of sounds like it sounds a little bit complex,
I guess, you know, for people listening.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, And I think it's important to remember that schemes
like this have existed in the Northern Territory and across
Australia for a very long time. Portable long service leave
already exists in the construction industry and in community and
disability Services Victoria, Queensland. The Act have had this for years.
It's about to start in South Australia and New South
(02:31):
Wales this July. So this is actually taking territory workers backwards.
We already see from our membership people often come to
the territory or if they're from there, they consider moving
to other states anyway because the working conditions are better.
So we need to be doing all we can to
retain these essential workers. And you know, if you're looking
to move to Queensland, for example, as a community worker,
(02:53):
you're going to get better entitlements than you're doing the territory.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, and I mean the last thing we want is
for them to be moving to other states or to
not be able to you know, to entice people to
the Northern Territory. I guess the difficult part is, you know,
the government is well and truly in debt, but how
big an impact do you think this could potentially have
on the workforce.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
This is a huge impact. It's going to impact tens
of thousands of workers across the territory. Just to give
an example, we know some members who've worked in the
sector for going on twenty years, but they've never been
able to take long service ly before, they've never been
able to take a break. This is a workforce that's
historically relatively low paid, it's female dominated, and we already
(03:36):
struggle to keep people in these essential frontline roles. We're
talking about some really difficult jobs, things like family domestic violence,
things like supporting some of the most vulnerable young people
in the state. Every workplace we visit, people are really
excited and looking forward to actually being able to take
a break so they can stay in the sector and
not burn out. And so this is going to be
(03:56):
a real kick in the guts for those workers.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, right, And in addition to all of those fundamental workers,
it's also it is also childcare workers and those working
in aged care and those kinds of areas as well,
isn't it.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, that's right. So the territory scheme will apply to
it was going to apply to a range of different industries,
but they all have in common that they're relatively well paid,
not always the most secure forms of work, and female
dominated sectors.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Dan, do you have any idea how many Territorians are
going to be impacted by this?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So we estimate those north of ten thousand workers just
in the social and community services sector within the Northern Territory.
So we're talking tens of thousands at some really major employers.
The community services sector is a major industry and major
employer in the territory, and there's a lot of unmet
need in the territory. We don't want to see services
(04:55):
armed as a result of this because workers are going
to leave the sector.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
The Northern Territory government had seen that the scheme would
see costs increase, you know, childcare centers, for example, an
extra fifty thousand dollars a year which was going to
then have to be passed on to families. I mean,
what's your take on that.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I think that's a bit of a faur fee. To
be honest, employers already need to be budgeting for a
worker's long service leave entitlement. What we're talking about is
a small change in how that would operate, being a
levee that would be paid into this central fund rather
than the childcare center or the MNGO employer whoever it is,
keeping those money set aside on their balance sheet to
(05:36):
be able to pay their long long term staff long
service leave. So they should already have.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
The money and so I mean where too from here?
Are you going to catch up with the minister if
you put in a request to speak with her to
try and talk these through, or do you think it's
done and dust it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
We're going to be doing all we can as a
union with our members across the territory to try and
get the CLP to reverse this decision. Only be asking
for urgent meetings to get them to try and get
them to change their minds. But yeah, this is a real,
really outrageous attack on workers, right, I'm not the territory.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Look, I know some people listening this morning might be saying,
you know, if I if I stay in the same sector,
but I change jobs, so I'm not entitled to long service.
Even quite often when people look at these decisions, you know,
they think about their own situation. But I know for me,
you know, the childcare center where my kids went to
its many years ago now, but there was women who
work there and have worked there for years and years.
(06:34):
And you know, I know that a lot of the
time in these sectors as well as you've touched on
a lot of these wonderful people really aren't paid as
well as they should be, you know, to help care
for our seniors, to help care for our children, and
then in those roles within the domestic violence sector, for example,
they are absolutely critical roles. So you know, what would
(06:58):
you say to anybody listening this morning that you know
that sort of feels as though they don't deserve to
have this portable long service slave.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, I think. I think the difference in this sector
that's quite unique is that, and it's similar to construction,
where portable long service leave already exists. These workers often
aren't the ones choosing to move employers. It's a result
of government funding decisions. For example, one employer might be
organization might be operating a homelessness shelter or domestic violence service.
(07:30):
The funding tender changes and that same service operates, but
it's being run by a different employer. The worker transitions
to the new employer. They're doing the same job, they're
working in the same sector, but because of the government
funding decision, they've just lost all their long service leave entitlements.
So it's not like the employers are shopping around for
a better job. They're doing the same job. They're just
(07:51):
being they're just losing out on their long service leave,
and then they're burning out. You know, there's a lot
of trauma, there's a lot of difficulty in doing these jobs,
so there's high rates of burnout. So people need to
be able to take a break and if they don't
get their long service ly, they just can't do that well.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Australian Services Union organizing lead for the Northern Territory branch,
Dan Spencer, really great to speak with you this morning.
Thank you for having a chat with us.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Thanks very much.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Thank you.
Yesterday we heard the COLP plans to scrap Labour's portable
long service leave laws for the community services sector. Now.
The scheme would have allowed employees in sectors including childcare,
aged care and disability services to accumulate long service leave
benefits without having to maintain continuous employment with a single employer.
(00:22):
The Minister for Public Service, Joe Hersey said the scheme
was not properly budgeted for, with set up costs alone
estimated to be between four to twelve million dollars, and
the Northern Territory government would have borne the brunt. The
Australian Services Union slammed the colp's decision, warning that it's
going to exasperate workforce retention issues and send the Northern
(00:46):
Territory backwards. Now joining me on the line is the
union's organizing lead for the Northern Territory branch, Dan Spencer.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Good morning, Dan, Good morning Katie. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Dan.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Firstly, can you explain how the portable long service scheme works?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah? Absolutely so. Where As a union and our members
across the territory are really concerned about this decision to
scrap portable long service leave. It's something that workers throughout
the community and disability services sector we're really actually looking
forward to being able to take, and now it's being
taken away. So the way it would work is, you know,
(01:25):
workers in this sector move around a lot often because
of government changes. They might be doing the exact same
job working, for example, in a domestic violence shelter. Employer changes.
This would mean that they'd carry over their long service
leave with them be paid through a central authority with
a small levee on employers, rather than the employers holding
onto the long service leave entitlement on their balance book.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. Right, So I mean I understand, like I understand
that it would also see those employers pay that levy
to a central funder each quarter and employees would have
access their long servicely from that fund. I mean it
sort of sounds like it sounds a little bit complex,
I guess, you know, for people listening.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, And I think it's important to remember that schemes
like this have existed in the Northern Territory and across
Australia for a very long time. Portable long service leave
already exists in the construction industry and in community and
disability Services Victoria, Queensland. The Act have had this for years.
It's about to start in South Australia and New South
(02:31):
Wales this July. So this is actually taking territory workers backwards.
We already see from our membership people often come to
the territory or if they're from there, they consider moving
to other states anyway because the working conditions are better.
So we need to be doing all we can to
retain these essential workers. And you know, if you're looking
to move to Queensland, for example, as a community worker,
(02:53):
you're going to get better entitlements than you're doing the territory.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, and I mean the last thing we want is
for them to be moving to other states or to
not be able to you know, to entice people to
the Northern Territory. I guess the difficult part is, you know,
the government is well and truly in debt, but how
big an impact do you think this could potentially have
on the workforce.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
This is a huge impact. It's going to impact tens
of thousands of workers across the territory. Just to give
an example, we know some members who've worked in the
sector for going on twenty years, but they've never been
able to take long service ly before, they've never been
able to take a break. This is a workforce that's
historically relatively low paid, it's female dominated, and we already
(03:36):
struggle to keep people in these essential frontline roles. We're
talking about some really difficult jobs, things like family domestic violence,
things like supporting some of the most vulnerable young people
in the state. Every workplace we visit, people are really
excited and looking forward to actually being able to take
a break so they can stay in the sector and
not burn out. And so this is going to be
(03:56):
a real kick in the guts for those workers.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, right, And in addition to all of those fundamental workers,
it's also it is also childcare workers and those working
in aged care and those kinds of areas as well,
isn't it.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, that's right. So the territory scheme will apply to
it was going to apply to a range of different industries,
but they all have in common that they're relatively well paid,
not always the most secure forms of work, and female
dominated sectors.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Dan, do you have any idea how many Territorians are
going to be impacted by this?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So we estimate those north of ten thousand workers just
in the social and community services sector within the Northern Territory.
So we're talking tens of thousands at some really major employers.
The community services sector is a major industry and major
employer in the territory, and there's a lot of unmet
need in the territory. We don't want to see services
(04:55):
armed as a result of this because workers are going
to leave the sector.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
The Northern Territory government had seen that the scheme would
see costs increase, you know, childcare centers, for example, an
extra fifty thousand dollars a year which was going to
then have to be passed on to families. I mean,
what's your take on that.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I think that's a bit of a faur fee. To
be honest, employers already need to be budgeting for a
worker's long service leave entitlement. What we're talking about is
a small change in how that would operate, being a
levee that would be paid into this central fund rather
than the childcare center or the MNGO employer whoever it is,
keeping those money set aside on their balance sheet to
(05:36):
be able to pay their long long term staff long
service leave. So they should already have.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
The money and so I mean where too from here?
Are you going to catch up with the minister if
you put in a request to speak with her to
try and talk these through, or do you think it's
done and dust it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
We're going to be doing all we can as a
union with our members across the territory to try and
get the CLP to reverse this decision. Only be asking
for urgent meetings to get them to try and get
them to change their minds. But yeah, this is a real,
really outrageous attack on workers, right, I'm not the territory.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Look, I know some people listening this morning might be saying,
you know, if I if I stay in the same sector,
but I change jobs, so I'm not entitled to long service.
Even quite often when people look at these decisions, you know,
they think about their own situation. But I know for me,
you know, the childcare center where my kids went to
its many years ago now, but there was women who
work there and have worked there for years and years.
(06:34):
And you know, I know that a lot of the
time in these sectors as well as you've touched on
a lot of these wonderful people really aren't paid as
well as they should be, you know, to help care
for our seniors, to help care for our children, and
then in those roles within the domestic violence sector, for example,
they are absolutely critical roles. So you know, what would
(06:58):
you say to anybody listening this morning that you know
that sort of feels as though they don't deserve to
have this portable long service slave.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, I think. I think the difference in this sector
that's quite unique is that, and it's similar to construction,
where portable long service leave already exists. These workers often
aren't the ones choosing to move employers. It's a result
of government funding decisions. For example, one employer might be
organization might be operating a homelessness shelter or domestic violence service.
(07:30):
The funding tender changes and that same service operates, but
it's being run by a different employer. The worker transitions
to the new employer. They're doing the same job, they're
working in the same sector, but because of the government
funding decision, they've just lost all their long service leave entitlements.
So it's not like the employers are shopping around for
a better job. They're doing the same job. They're just
(07:51):
being they're just losing out on their long service leave,
and then they're burning out. You know, there's a lot
of trauma, there's a lot of difficulty in doing these jobs,
so there's high rates of burnout. So people need to
be able to take a break and if they don't
get their long service ly, they just can't do that well.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Australian Services Union organizing lead for the Northern Territory branch,
Dan Spencer, really great to speak with you this morning.
Thank you for having a chat with us.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Thanks very much.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Thank you.
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