Child safety caseworkers 'on the brink of collapse' and leaving in droves

Youth justice union delegates say caseworkers are "on the brink of collapsing", with highly experienced staff leaving in droves amid crushing workloads and less resources.

Together Union members, across youth justice and child safety are set to walk off the job today, in what will be their longest stop action since 2018.

Workers in the south-east corner will walkout from midday and bus to parliament house, after bargaining negotiations over agreements collapsed.

Mount Isa union delegate, Karlie Markham said the Youth Justice Service Centre has lost a collective 50 years of experience in the last 12 months, as highly skilled caseworkers left for better paying, and better resourced jobs.

"We're continuously being told that we have to do more with less and we're at the end of working with less. We can't sustain ourselves," she said.

"We're on the brink of everything collapsing and we just need the support from the government to be able to give us the funding and the resources and the staff to be able to do our jobs."

Ms Markham said not only were caseloads increasing, but they were becoming more complex.

"It's just expanded significantly and we're struggling to keep up," she said.

"We just cannot get the work done within our hours. It's impossible."

The Together Union said at its worst, the Mount Isa centre was operating with four less caseworkers and for a prolonged period without a team leader.

Assistant Secretary for the Together Union, Dee Spink said there was "critical workforce shortages in frontline roles".

"This government loves to talk about community safety, but they're not resourcing the workers to actually do the job on the front line," she said.

The Union said the government's breach bail, go to jail laws, set to be passed in parliament tonight, would only put further pressure on caseworkers.

Ms Markham said it was another reason why the government needed to channel more resources towards youth justice workers.

"If this government is serious about addressing youth crime and community safety, they actually need to start to get serious about supporting their staff," Ms Markham said.

"And that starts with more staffing and more resources, so we're actually able to do the minimum of our jobs and keep ourselves and communities safe."

In a statement, a Crisafulli government spokesperson said contingency plans were in place to minimise the disruption of the stop action.

"The Crisafulli Government values the incredible commitment of its youth justice staff and is continuing to negotiate in good faith, and we urge the Labor unions to do the same," it said.

Ms Spink also said three experienced caseworkers in Hervey Bay had left for jobs with Education Queensland in the past 12 months, citing higher pay, lower caseloads and better resources.

"You can't replace that overnight," Ms Spink said.

The Union is currently in reconciliation with the Queensland government in the Industrial Relations Commission.