The Problem of Parity
Season 4, Episode 1, Oct 30, 2023, 12:00 PM
In our first episode this season, we discuss one of the biggest issues facing our sector today. The ever-widening pay gap between thousands of workers in the charity and voluntary sector—particularly those employed in Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations—and their counterparts in organisations directly funded by the state, has had a debilitating impact on the efficacy and viability of many health and social service providers across the country.
This season, we’ll take the time to look at some of the not-so-good stuff affecting our members as 2023 draws to a close. But, more importantly, we’ll focus on the ways in which the people who keep our sector going—those who put their all into keeping civil society afloat—are managing to make things work and, ultimately, keep the lights on.
In our first episode, we discuss one of the biggest issues facing our sector today. The ever-widening pay gap between thousands of workers in the charity and voluntary sector—particularly those employed in Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations—and their counterparts in organisations directly funded by the state, has had a debilitating impact on the efficacy and viability of many health and social service providers across the country.
The collapse, in July, of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission was greeted with a widespread sense of frustration, and ultimately led to balloting on strike action. The strike itself was only recently called-off pending conversations with union membership. And, while government has committed to some initial pay increases and the beginning of a process aimed at addressing key impasses, the conditions of people working in the sector have yet to be significantly improved.
How then can we, as a unified sector, act to address these complexities, and, perhaps just as importantly, how can we communicate the need for improved conditions for staff and service users to the wider public?
On this episode, we talk with Dr Shana Cohen, CEO of the Think-Tank for Action on Social Change, or TASC, about a recent study produced in conjunction with The Wheel. The Future of Public Service Delivery by the Community & Voluntary Sector, analyses staffing, funding, and the demand for services among hundreds of Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations who deliver essential public services countrywide in diverse areas like health, disability, family support, childcare, eldercare, homelessness, and addiction.
Shana chats with The Wheel’s own Campaigns Manager, Dr Emily Bourke, about her work in bringing The Wheel’s 2024 Pre-Budget Submission, “A Budget for Civil Society”, to fruition, as well as how our submission encapsulates many of the key concerns shared by our members.
In our first episode, we discuss one of the biggest issues facing our sector today. The ever-widening pay gap between thousands of workers in the charity and voluntary sector—particularly those employed in Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations—and their counterparts in organisations directly funded by the state, has had a debilitating impact on the efficacy and viability of many health and social service providers across the country.
The collapse, in July, of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission was greeted with a widespread sense of frustration, and ultimately led to balloting on strike action. The strike itself was only recently called-off pending conversations with union membership. And, while government has committed to some initial pay increases and the beginning of a process aimed at addressing key impasses, the conditions of people working in the sector have yet to be significantly improved.
How then can we, as a unified sector, act to address these complexities, and, perhaps just as importantly, how can we communicate the need for improved conditions for staff and service users to the wider public?
On this episode, we talk with Dr Shana Cohen, CEO of the Think-Tank for Action on Social Change, or TASC, about a recent study produced in conjunction with The Wheel. The Future of Public Service Delivery by the Community & Voluntary Sector, analyses staffing, funding, and the demand for services among hundreds of Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations who deliver essential public services countrywide in diverse areas like health, disability, family support, childcare, eldercare, homelessness, and addiction.
Shana chats with The Wheel’s own Campaigns Manager, Dr Emily Bourke, about her work in bringing The Wheel’s 2024 Pre-Budget Submission, “A Budget for Civil Society”, to fruition, as well as how our submission encapsulates many of the key concerns shared by our members.