Member stories

Members of The Services Union continue to press for a Portable Long Service Leave (PLSL) Scheme.

SACS Members Delisiah and Michael, Executive President Jennifer Thomas and SACS Coordinator Justine Moran, attended the Queensland Parliament Public Hearing into Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Bill 2019, held Tuesday 21 January 2020.

You can view this via the following link with the broadcast starting at the 2 minute mark. The Services Union presents at 1:45hr mark:  http://tv.parliament.qld.gov.au/Committees?reference=C5347#parentVerticalTab3

The Bill to establish a PLSL Scheme for the Community Services Industry proposes a Scheme which will:

• Cover all employees across the varied sectors within the Industry (listed in Schedule 1 of the Bill)
• Apply to both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations in the Community Services Industry.
• Provide workers in the scheme with a PLSL entitlement after 7 years’ service with accrual at the rate of the existing statutory entitlement of 8.67 weeks after 10 years’ service;
• Require an employer to pay a levy calculated on an employee’s ordinary wages and report on an employee’s service; and
• Be administered by the existing PLSL Authority, QLeave (which currently administers PLSL schemes for the building and construction industry and the contract cleaning industry).

At the Public Hearing, some employers and peak bodies raised the need for the Scheme to have a clear definition of the Community Services Industry and what is community services work.

Our Union believes that the approach taken by the Bill which broadly define community services work based on the:

• Definition of the sector profile in the Deloitte report, “Forcasting the future: Community Services in Queensland 2025”, in combination with
• The scope as set out in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010; is the most effective way to ensure that the Bill is inclusive and will capture those workers it is intended to cover (All of you!!).

What is very clear is that standalone age care (eg residential aged care services), entities are not captured by the scope of the Bill as they are considered to be distinct from the Community Services Industry, and this was supported by the peak body representing Aged Care providers.

Standalone child care or early child care entities are also not captured by the scope of the Bill as they are also considered to be distinct from the Community Services Industry.

Our Union has continued to advocate the position that where an entity is established for the purpose of providing community service, or for purposes including community services but also provides aged care residential support or child care services for example, then the workers providing those services are captured by the scope of the Bill and would be entitled to be registered with the scheme. We expect a decision from the Committee on 14 February and will inform members of the next steps post the decision.

Having a PLSL Scheme would make it possible for you to qualify for long service leave.

As members you know legislative changes like this aren’t easy to achieve as individuals; only collective action of union members has the potential to achieve real change like this!

We need all members to continue to show support for the campaign in your workplace.

Please display the attached flyer in your workplace and encourage your colleagues to join and support the campaign.

Information on our union and joining can be found here

Arrange for one of our officials to meet with you and your colleagues to talk about the campaign and why it is important to be a union member.

You can also get more information about our campaign at www.plsl.com.au or you can contact one of our Social and Community Services Organisers:

Jeremy Young – Jeremy.Young@theservicesunion.com.au

Darci Wanamaker  – darci.wanamaker@theservicesunion.com.au

Stuart Maggs – Stuart.Maggs@theservicesunion.com.au

Tracey Coorey – tracey.coorey@theservicesunion.com.au