Together Union members in Queensland's child safety and youth justice workforce are walking off the job on Thursday (29 October), with workers in the south-east stopping from midday and travelling by bus to Parliament House, ABC News reported. The broadcaster said it would be the members' longest stop action since 2018, and followed the collapse of bargaining negotiations over a new agreement.
The union's stop-work page describes a half-day stoppage from 12 noon, with a rally on the front steps of Parliament House, on the corner of George and Alice Streets in Brisbane City, at 3pm. It lists union buses on eight routes from the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Ipswich and across Brisbane, and tells members the stoppage does not apply where a child or young person is in immediate danger.
The union has been negotiating with the state government on a new child safety and youth justice agreement since March, according to the ABC. Its page says the departments have moved negotiations to conciliation, and the ABC reported the union is now before the Industrial Relations Commission.
Government Contingency Plans in Place
A Crisafulli government spokesperson told the ABC that contingency plans were in place to minimise disruption from the stop action.
"The Crisafulli Government values the incredible commitment of its youth justice staff and is continuing to negotiate in good faith, and we urge the Labor unions to do the same," the statement said.
Workforce Shortages in Frontline Roles
Mount Isa union delegate Karlie Markham told the ABC that the town's Youth Justice Service Centre had lost a collective 50 years of experience in the past 12 months as caseworkers left for better-paid, better-resourced jobs. The union said that at its worst the Mount Isa centre was four caseworkers short and went for a prolonged period without a team leader.
"We just cannot get the work done within our hours. It's impossible," Ms Markham said.
"We're on the brink of everything collapsing and we just need the support from the government to be able to give us the funding and the resources and the staff to be able to do our jobs."
Together assistant secretary Dee Spink said there were "critical workforce shortages in frontline roles". She said three experienced caseworkers in Hervey Bay had moved to Education Queensland in the past 12 months, citing higher pay, lower caseloads and better resources.
"This government loves to talk about community safety, but they're not resourcing the workers to actually do the job on the front line," Ms Spink said.
The union also told the ABC that the government's breach bail, go to jail laws, which were set to pass parliament on Thursday night, would put further pressure on caseworkers.
Earlier September Strike
Thursday's action follows an earlier walkout on Friday (25 September), when workers stopped for about two and a half hours and visited local MPs' offices. Brisbane Times reported at the time that the union said more than 100 child safety officer positions were vacant and claimed at least 60 youth justice jobs were empty. A department spokesperson told the newspaper that all vacancies were weighed against workforce needs.
The ABC reported in September that the union had been taking protected industrial action since August, and that a Child Safety Department spokesperson said the government had made an offer and was continuing to negotiate in good faith.