E tū is calling for the government to include unions and
their workforce representatives in any new strategy to
transform the care and support sector.
The
Government’s appointed Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group
report, released today, makes recommendations for better
pay, training, culturally safe care, and union engagement in
the sector. This is applauded.
However, E tū says the
report falls short of providing a pathway to a transformed
sector. Home support worker and E tū member Tamara Baddeley
says “While we welcome today’s report, is still does not
address the systems issues in the sector, of low pay, unsafe
staff levels and worker churn or turnover.
“If pay
equity and safe staffing were actually seen as important
pieces of the puzzle, the solutions would be legislated for,
funded accordingly, with open discussion with the workers,
unions, and employers in the sector to address workforce
turnover.”
“The health care workforce needs pay
equity, safe staffing levels and a reformed in-between
travel system, so workers are not subsidising their
employers.”
E tū Director Amy Hansen says that
parties across the political spectrum need to come together
to address the failures in the aged care system for the
people who do the caring as well and those who receive the
care.
“This is about so much more than party policy,
these are real and vulnerable peoples’ lives at
stake.”
Amy says E tū has been calling to
‘transform care’ in three key areas:
- The
value of care, including Pay Equity, secure and predictable
hours, access to training, and fair reimbursement for travel
costs - The standards of care with funded minimum
staffing ratios, and - The funding of care, including
a multi-stakeholder system design that is transparent and
accountable and delivers equitable quality care
outcomes.
“You cannot build a lasting care
system without the people who do the caring,” Amy
says.
“If the Government is serious about getting this
right, it’s time it stopped talking about this workforce and
started building the future of care alongside
them.”
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
