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Aged care support staff say they feel “insulted” after being excluded from the Fair Work Commission's interim decision to increase wages for direct workers in the sector.
In a highly-anticipated ruling made on Friday, the commission ordered 15 per cent pay increases for over 180,000 aged care nurses, AINs, personal care staff and home care workers.
This came after the employer watchdog accepted expert evidence that workers in feminised industries, including aged care, had been “historically undervalued” and underpaid.
“We wish to make it clear that this does not conclude our consideration of the unions’ claim for a 25 per cent increase for other employees, namely administrative and support and aged care care employees,” the commission said.
“Nor are we suggesting the 15 per cent interim increase necessarily exhausts the extent of the increase justified by work value reasons in respect of direct care workers.”
In its interim report, the commission said it had yet to decide on whether non-care workers, including kitchen staff, administrative workers and cleaners, would also receive a pay rise.
Aaron Wilson, who works as a maintenance manager in a nursing home in regional Victoria, said the decision left him and his colleagues feeling "disgusted."
“They're not acknowledging us. It's like we don't exist,” Aaron told Aged Care Insite.
“The carers look after the residents, but we do everything else. It doesn't make sense.”
In its ruling, the commission said the timing of the pay rise will be discussed later this month after taking submissions from providers and the government.
Federal Labor has backed an increase to the minimum wage for aged care workers and said it was committed to funding Fair Work's final decision.
Aaron, who has worked in the industry for over 20 years, says non-care staff are the backbone of aged care facilities and deserve to be acknowledged.
"There's the cleaners who do the laundry and and they wash residents clothes for them, and they iron them and put the back in their rooms," he said.
"You've also got admin. They're the ones who book the people in, who meet the residents and their families and do the paperwork before they even get in
"We're the ones who clean floors and the toilets, if a lights broken - we fix it. To not to be acknowledged for the work, it's like we don't matter."
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Every staff member counts in an aged care home…EVERYONE! Not just direct care staff..without the others, the home wouldn’t function. I wish the politicians would come and work a few day in an aged care home and see how all the cogs work together to turn the wheel. Perhaps all the “others” should walk out and we would see what would happen then!
Bravo Jennifer.
It is just so sad, frustrating and disrespectful that major decisions of this nature, including re the earlier retention payments, are made so naively and clearly with no real clue as to how things actually are. Who do they think is cleaning and maintaining our facilities, providing the vital catering for nutrition, manning reception desks and conducting mandatory COVID checks and in my role, undertaking a variety of diversional therapy activities in order to allow residents to feel engaged and valued.
If this decision by the Fair Work Commission was made to encourage staff to stay in the industry and encourage others to work in the sector, then they have failed miserably.
In this day and age the word is discrimination!!! I’m a cleaner in a larger Aged care facility, who cleans up after the ECAs and Nursing staff, who keeps it as tidy and sanitised, I can tell you Cleaners!! We worked our butts of so our residents didn’t get covid, and we did a very good job, Our jobs are as important as anyone elses, it’s team work that keeps these place open! And doing this to service staff is offensive to us all!! If all services stopped for just 1 day, there’s be no linen or cloths, dirty staff rooms, bathrooms and messy floors and definitely no breakfast, lunch or Dinner, and if anything broke! . . . Well that would be it!
We deserve same rights as all staff but no we are discriminated against! VERY POOR OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERMENT, Thank you for making so many ppl feel worthless!!
I agree wholeheartedly.I too worked as a cleaner and pantry dishing up food for residents.I feel insulted and im getting out of the industry.So many people i know who do the same job have had a gutful and are getting out.The govt are LIARS and they say “Aged Care Workers” are getting a payrise.Well they can shove it…im out!!
Allied Health direct care staff haven’t been included
I am a cleaner in age care they need to come and see how much we do in cleaning how close we are to the clients and what we have to clean in the room ,gastro and covid19 all infected rooms If we did not clean the rooms the agecare would close down cause of to many i nfection and would be dirty and there would be health and safety issues
Allied Health direct care staff are not included either
I AM DISGUSTED WITH THIS DECISION ALSO AND DONT WANT THE PAYRISE IF EVERYONE WORKING IN AGED CARE DONT GET IT. THIS IS DISCRIMINATION AT ITS FINEST.
Allied health aged care workers haven’t been included either
is it true that te allied health is also not included?i m working as physio aid right now
I work admin in a small facility and we help residents all day. Toilet and feed when help is needed. Take them to appointments if needed. Sit and talk with them if they are upset. All staff in aged care work together for their residents. You can’t separate all the rolls. Everyone pitches in when help is needed. Admin workers did not get any of the covid payments given to aged care workers and now you don’t want to give an across the board pay rise!!! We are ALL underpaid
I am a cleaner in an aged care facility and I am very pissed off..If it wasnt for the cleaners/laundry the place wouldnt survive! they need to include ALL that work at an aged care!
not only am i a cleaner I also help feed, toilet residents when needed, walk with them,talk with them We all need to be included!
I am a cleaner in aged care, It’s hard work, we work at least as hard as the carers and nurses.
If cleaners aren’t included in the 15% pay rise it will be the straw that breaks the camels back for me and I will resign. I have had enough.
I know ain’s that do both cleaning and cares, all say cleaning is much harder than care work.
Non direct care staff missed out on Bonus payments during Covid 19 lock downs. Now we are not entitled to a payrise? Since when is is OK for the government to discriminate against workers. Where is the FAIR in this. Absolutely Disgusted. I am in no way saying that Care workers do not well and truly deserve a payrise. So do the rest of the Agedcare workers.
I do maintenance in aged care we always miss out and are hardly even mentioned as a part of aged care. The people in fair work who make these decisions should miss out on a pay rise while the rest of their staff gets one and then they know how it feels