ANMF applies for 25 per cent increase to wages

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has applied to the Fair Work Commission for a 25 per cent boost to the wages of aged care nurses and personal care workers.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has launched a work value application with the Fair Work Commission to lift the sector’s nursing and care worker wages by 25 per cent.

Under the proposal the hourly rate for level one registered nurses at the top of the pay scale would jump from $30.23 to $37.80 while an enrolled nurses at the top of the scale would rise from $24.73 to $30.93 and

It also means that the starting weekly wage for assistants in nursing and personal care assistants would increase from $877 to $1097 per week.

The ANMF is also calling for AINs and PCWs to progress to their next pay level after six months instead of the current 12 months.

ANMF assistant federal secretary Lori-Anne Sharp said the union made the application following the Federal Government’s failure to commit to improving wages in the recent budget.

“Nurses who work in aged care, depending on what state they’re working in the country, receive 15 to 25 per cent less than their public sector counterparts,” Ms Sharp told Australian Ageing Agenda.

Lori-Anne Sharp

“The aged care royal commission report clearly recognises the need for better wages and conditions and career paths in aged care. And disappointingly, the Commonwealth Government haven’t given that strong commitment in their recent release of the budget. There is nothing tied to improving wages and conditions,” Ms Sharp said.

The application follows the Health Services Union’s work value application to the FWC in November to lift the wages of personal care workers, activities officers and catering, cleaning and administration staff in aged care by 25 per cent. 

Current award wages do not reflect the value of the work involved in aged care, Ms Sharp.

“We’ve seen the evidence from the royal commission’s report that there’s been increasing acuity of residents going into aged care,” she said.

“This has all come at a time when we’re seeing complexity in the regulatory environment, changes to technology and care delivery around documentation requirements and not to mention how everything’s been affected by COVID particularly in the aged care sector,” Ms Sharp said.

She said she hoped the government recognised the aged care workforce was undervalued.

“That’ll be key to recruiting and retaining staff into the future in a sector that we know is going to need a big injection of workers,” Ms Sharp said.

Opposition supports call for increased pay

Shadow Minister for Aged Care Services and Senior Australians Clare O’Neil said Labor supported the union’s call for increased pay.

“I certainly support the push for a significant increase on pay” and “a 25 per cent increase sounds like about the right number, but we need to go through a fair work process,” Ms O’Neil told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

Like Shadow Minister for Ageing Mark Butler at an industry conference last week, Ms O’Neil highlighted that the Federal Budget failed to address the needs of the aged care workforce.

“The government’s response was unacceptable for a whole range of reasons, but probably the most glaring omission is that there was nothing in there for aged care workers.

“This job is complex, it’s difficult… it’s incredibly emotionally draining, and they are some of the worst paid people in the Australian economy today,” she said.

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Tags: aged care workforce, anmf, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, clare o'neil, lori-anne sharp, mark butler, wages,

4 thoughts on “ANMF applies for 25 per cent increase to wages

  1. Aged care providers also support FUNDED wage increases. Unfortunately the federal government response to the royal commission didn’t go near adequate funding. Facilities can barely keep the doors open let alone delivering wage increases.
    Unfortunately post budget there appears to be little pressure on the government to deliver required funding, delivering 25% of the recommendations isn’t much of an achievement and absolutely no reason to be congratulated as has been the case.

  2. Its easy to talk about how valued aged care workers, RNs, ENs carers, are – lets now see if the government meant it or were just talking. Well done to the The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation for advancing the interests of the aged care workforce. If anyone doubts the benefit of unions then they should look at the aged care workforce – highly feminised, largely non-union labour and as a result highly exploited.

  3. I am an EEN in aged care (2nd year) and am on $24.14 an hour. I routinely need to stay beyond the end of my shift (up to 3 hours..unpaid) to ensure my charting and work is finished, otherwise I can’t sleep at night thinking I’ve missed something. I’m paid for 7.5 hours, though I can’t recall a single shift I’ve ever had time to have a break. One EN for up to 50 residents at a time……if I make a mistake or miss something, someone could die or I could loose my registration. My little brother makes 40c an hour more than I do, collecting trolleys……….go figure……..

    I continue to do this, working unpaid overtime, short staffed, pushed to the brink of exhaustion and sanity because I love and care for my resident’s and co-workers. I love being a nurse, but I have been contemplating throwing it all away to be a cleaner or stock shelves at Aldi, because the stress and pay is getting beyond a joke.

    As an open statement to the government…wake the hell up. Our carers, nurses, and residents deserve better.

  4. I am an RN work in aged care. I always want to give up my career because too much stress and too much overtime without pay with too little payrate. Also plus too much expectation from family , manager, resident .

    I always try my best but accumulated day after day then I am exhausted. I always worry about we will short of staff before my shift start and worry about something I may miss out after my shift.

    Government need think about us who is looking after your grandparents and your parents. Do you want your love one can get better care? Please support us!

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