Case For Improved Social Worker Pay ‘Compelling"

Case For Improved Pay For Social Workers ‘Compelling’ – PSA

The case for improving the pay of social workers and front line staff at the Department of Child Youth and Family Services has been thoroughly researched and argued, the PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff said today.

‘It is compelling evidence of the need for action in the next budget – if not sooner - to improve the delivery of this most critical of public services,’ he said.

The report’s finding that ‘social workers to a great degree … are paid well below the comparable rates for other [social worker] public sector employees’ is a damning indictment on a decade of downgrading and underfunding, he said.

‘Pay is not the only ingredient in the mix, of course, but it is fundamental to the remedial work that must be done to deal with the tremendous work pressures and demands our people face,’ Wagstaff said.

The extra money called for in the remuneration project report is in line with the ‘transitional funding’ revealed as part of the state sector bargaining parameters by the State Services Minister, Trevor Mallard at last week’s PSA conference.

‘Surely this is the most convincing case for such extra funding and we expect the Government to positively respond,’ he said.

The PSA, through its partnership for quality approach, is involved in extending the work of the report and we will be negotiating how to put in place its findings next year.

‘Our work with Child Youth and Family on this and a number of union and employer working groups will improve the quality of the jobs people hold and the quality of the services they deliver.

‘New Zealand can only be the better for that,’ Wagstaff said.

For more comment or information please call Richard Wagstaff on 025 277 8131
or the PSA communications officer, Colin Williams on 025 575 839

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