Dr. Carmel Halton:

I agree with my colleague. Child protection and welfare social workers in other jurisdictions are paid higher salaries for the particular work than colleagues in other areas. Whether this approach would be attractive is being debated with unions. The levels of complexity of the work are very high, as are the demands made. I agree that a reconsideration of pay levels would help to attract people into the profession. When one asks people why they come into the area of social work, they say that, while the salary is important and they could be on a similar salary in other, less onerous, areas, they would still choose social work. It is primarily a female profession which used to be considered to be a vocation. The people who come into the profession have a vocational attraction to the work and are very committed and dedicated in responding to the complex challenges facing and needs of service users.