Queensland child protection workers to strike — ABC News Australia
Thousands of child protection and youth justice workers in Queensland, Australia, plan to stop work for about two and a half hours due to prolonged negotiations over pay and working conditions. This was reported by ABC News Australia.
Negotiations have continued since March
The Together Union has been negotiating with the state government on a new agreement for child protection and youth justice workers since March. Since August, the union has been taking protected industrial action. Together Union assistant secretary Dee Spink said participants do not want to leave their workplaces, but believe the government is not treating the situation seriously enough.
According to the union, workers regularly manage cases involving 30 or more children, although the agreed safe workload is about 16 children per specialist. More than 100 child protection officer positions also remain vacant.
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Action near MPs' offices
Child protection worker Lucy Besnard said excessive workloads prevent specialists from making all necessary visits and properly responding to the needs of children and young people. According to her, workers are trying to ensure the safety of every child, but cannot always complete the full amount of work required.
During the strike, workers intend to bring inflatable mattresses to the offices of local members of parliament. They want to draw attention to cases in which children had to stay overnight in government offices while waiting for suitable accommodation to be found. In June, the state government confirmed that such cases had occurred, describing them as rare.
A spokesperson for the Department of Child Safety said the government had already made an offer and was continuing good-faith negotiations on collective employment agreements. The department also said it had business continuity plans in place to minimise the impact of the work stoppage on the delivery of critical services.
