By Mandy Oakham
Disability workers took to the streets of central Geelong this week as they ramped up their campaign again proposed government changes to the NDIS.
Around 50 protesters marched from Trades Hall through Geelong to the offices of Gayle Tierney, the Minister for Training and Skills.
Local organiser for the Health and Community Services Union, Angela Carter, said that her union planned to escalate their actions in coming weeks in the Geelong area as there are currently around 200 disability workers in the region facing uncertainty about their jobs and their future.
This week’s rally was focused on getting the State Government back to the table to finalise EBA negotiations, and is part of the wider campaign by the union against what it is sees as the privatisation of disability.
“We want the minister to find her voice and bring pressure to bear on her government to give our members some certainty about their future,” Angela said.
“The government is using the roll out of the NDIS to privatise the services, and are saying that it is all about cutting costs.
“But when you cut costs, you affect the quality of the services being offered by our members and increase uncertainty about our members’ job future.”
There are 19 group homes for the disabled spread across the Geelong region with 105 residents affected by the uncertainty surrounding the NDIS roll out.
“The government says privatisation is all about choice, but the government is actually removing choice,” Angela said.
“They wouldn’t be game to talking about privatising public health, but they feel free to do exactly that to disability services.
“We just want an end to the uncertainty for our members and for the people in their care.”
