Unions are calling on Premier Gladys Berejiklian to extend testing and isolation payments to workers in the Illawarra region.
Last Friday the Premier heeded the calls of unions and health experts by agreeing to a payment to workers who forgo income to get tested for COVID and isolate until they receive their results.
But the Premier has only made the $320 payments available to workers in the 17 Sydney LGAs of concern.
This is despite the Illawarra Shoalhaven region recording 21 cases in the last four weeks.
Unions NSW Secretary, Mark Morey, said the link between economic security and public health outcomes was undeniable.
"When workers face a financial penalty to test and isolate or to get vaccinated for that matter, it gives the virus more chance to spread," Mr Morey said.
"Casual, contract workers and sole traders should not have to choose between feeding their family and getting tested for COVID.
"We need to remove every barrier to getting tested or vaccinated.
"For people with permanent, secure jobs who can work from home, isolation is a relatively light burden. But if you are in a manual or service sector job, without leave rights, it's a much greater impost. You have to sacrifice pay, possibly for several days.
"Over 80,000 people in Illawarra Shoalhaven have turned out for a test in the last month, they have been magnificent, we must encourage their sacrifice by making it as easy as possible for them to do the right thing.
"If workers in Sydney are getting these payments why are those in Illawarra Shoalhaven being treated like second class citizens?
"We are all paying the price for the Premier's slow and lacklustre response to this outbreak. But it's not too late to get this under control if we put economic security at the heart of the response," Mr Morey said.
Mark Morey 0425 231 812
