Social workers demand action on pay rise

Thousands of workers have rallied across Australia to demand governments meet a "gender-based" pay gap in the social and community sector.

About 7000 protesters marched through Sydney and Melbourne, chanting for a wage rise in the female-dominated sector, following Fair Work Australia's finding that they were underpaid, with gender partly to blame.

Pia Cervevi, a qualified social worker, was among the protesters marching in Melbourne to Donna Summer song "She Works Hard for the Money".

She has no doubts the "feminised industry" is the reason for low wages.

"86 percent of workers in my field are female and I think that we're being paid as though we're still doing chores at home, rather than being recognised as qualified professionals," she said.

In Sydney, some 5000 workers took to the streets to call on the state government to take "a little more action" on meeting their pay demands.

The protesters then staged a flash mob, dancing to the Elvis song, A Little Less Conversation.

Fair Work Australia last month found workers in areas including disabilities and aged care were underpaid compared to their public-sector counterparts, with gender partly responsible.

The tribunal has called for further submissions from unions and federal and state governments before deciding how much wages should rise.

The Australian Services Union is demanding an average 25 percent increase, to be fully funded by federal and state governments.

Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten has said the federal government was prepared to delve into its budget to fund the equal pay case.

But ASU branch secretary Lisa Darmanin said the protesters were determined to ensure the governments "put their money where their mouth is".

"We've won the moral argument, we've won the legal argument, but we still haven't won the money," she told the crowds in Melbourne.

Equal pay activist Zelda D'Aprano, who chained herself to a Commonwealth building during a protest in 1969, addressed the rally outside Melbourne's Trades Hall before a march to state Parliament.

The 83-year-old told reporters the social sector was a typical case of female wage inequality.

"The gap is still there and all because our work is undervalued," she said.

"If we (women) withdrew our skills all over Australia our country would close down."

The ASU also released an industry survey that showed the sector was struggling to attract and retain workers because of the low wages.

The federal government submission to the tribunal is due by month's end, with submissions from the state governments due in mid July.

The Melbourne and Sydney rallies were part of a national day of action.

-AAP