In Unity is Strength

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Who cares? Workforce trends and attitudes to
unions in the social and community services
sector

• Gabrielle Meagher
• University of Sydney

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Workforce developments in SACS sector

• Deprofessionalisation
• Functional underemployment
• Poor returns to education

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a) Deprofessionalisation
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b) Functional underemployment
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c) Poor returns to education
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2. SACS workers attitudes to unions

• Membership rates in NSW family services agencies
• Perceptions of union activity
• Perceptions of role of unions

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Membership rates in NSW family services agencies

• Survey of 70 family workers in CSGP funded
  services in NSW
• Around 32 are union members (mostly of the ASU)
  compared to 19 of community service employees
  and 23 of all employees.
• ABS, Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade
  Union Membership, August 2003.

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b) Perceptions of union activity

• Family Workers Survey asked whether Unions are
  active in my workplace
• 11 of all respondents agreed (these were mainly
  union members).
• However, more than 60 of union members disagreed
  that unions were active in their workplace

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c) Perceptions of role of unions

• Employees will never protect their working
  conditions and wages without strong unions
  (Family Worker Survey)
• 43 of respondents agreed
• Unsurprisingly, 74 of union members held this
  view, but so did 30 of non-union members.

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