Pay staff “properly”: Minister

Justine Elliot has angered aged care leaders with a comment about wage levels.

A controversial comment about aged care wages from Ageing Minister, Justine Elliot, has shocked industry leaders.

Mrs Elliot told the ABC that providers should “remunerate their workers properly” and urged more providers to lift their pay above award rates.

But the Campaign for Care of Older Australians (CCOA) hit back at the minister, saying her comments “[beggared] belief]”.

The coalition – made up of nine charitable organisations and the two industry peak bodies – pointed out that Mrs Elliot is responsible for controlling aged care funding.

“We are delighted the minister agrees that more should be spent on aged care,” the campaign coalition said in a statement. “We would now like her to commit to reforms that will make it possible.”

“The aged sector is facing a critical shortfall in funding, the majority of which is regulated and allocated by the federal government as part of an out of date system.”

CCOA is asking the government for an immediate funding boost to help providers meet the ‘real’ costs of care and accommodation.

“An average of 70 per cent of providers’ incomes is spent on salaries sanctioned by awards and enterprise agreements, leaving very little to cover other critical costs including accommodation,” the CCOA statement said.

“There was no relief provided in the Federal Budget and the Productivity Commission inquiry, which will address wages, staffing and funding, is still 12 months away from completion.”
 

Tags: ccoa, funding, justine-elliot, wages, workforce,

Leave a Reply