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Desperate advice offering $56 AN HOUR for lollipop people to guide kids across highways amid dire shortage
- Lollipop folks offered up to $56 an hour
- Widespread worker shortage hits Victoria
City councils are offering Lollipop folks up to $56 an hour, who are desperate to recruit more workers amid dire shortages.
The labor shortage has become so severe in Victoria that some recruitment agencies have resorted to paying workers twice their typical wage.
Janie, who asked that her real name not be used, confirmed that she was paid two hours of work for every hour she worked in the Melbourne town of Yarra, meaning she takes home $56.28 for every hour worked.
She is one of several school crossing supervisors employed by Hoban Recruitment, an agency that recruits workers for eight councils in the region.
The councils, which are desperate to recruit more workers amid the shortage, are offering Lollipop folks up to $56 an hour.
Janie, who asked that her real name not be used, receives two hours of work for every hour she works in the Melbourne town of Yarra.
Victoria is facing a general shortage of lollipop people ahead of the start of the school year on January 30.
Casual workers are offered between $35 and $40 an hour, while people with lollipops work for between $25 and $30.
At least 15 councils are on the hunt for workers, with the possibility that school crossings will be left unsupervised or that council staff will be forced to replace them.
Cardinia Shire, which is in the south-east of Melbourne, has 75 crossings that need to be monitored.
The problem is not just localized to Melbourne with shortages experienced in rural communities.
Latrobe and Wangaratta councils and Surf Coast, East Gippsland and Hepburn councils are among the towns looking for the most workers.
Janie said the high pay rate had its drawbacks, with little or no employee benefits.
“There’s no one to cover for you, so I’ve been sick before at work,” she said. Age.
“I have met so many wonderful people doing this job and I feel compelled to make sure the children are safe.”
Victoria is facing a widespread shortage of lollipop people ahead of the return of the school year on January 30.
A Yarra town spokesman said the council offered “competitive” wages and conditions and the pay was “higher than neighboring councils”.
The lollipop shortage has been blamed on the lack of benefits provided to workers and short shifts of 45 minutes to an hour.
Yarra councilor Stephen Jolly called the conditions “immoral” and said he had received complaints from parents about a lack of lollipop people.
Rachel King, 51, said she had been working as a lollipop for the past 15 years and stuck to it out of a sense of obligation to the community.
“I’ve formed an attachment with the kids, you see them go from kindergarten to year 12 and you see their personalities change,” she said.