The Illawarra-based aged care provider says it has contributed nearly $4 million of its own funds to ensure staff receive the pay rises they are entitled to under the Fair Work Commission's Aged Care Work Value Case decision.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association had claimed the provider, which operates 19 aged care homes in NSW, had failed to pass on Government funding for the historic pay rises.
They alleged IRT had also failed to commit to passing on the additional Government funding for nurses and carer pay rises set to take effect in October 2025 and August 2026.
However, an IRT spokesperson has told The Weekly SOURCE, "IRT has delivered all Work Value and Wage Case decision increases using all government funding and adding its own to all staff since July 2023. This includes an increase in January ranging from 2% to 11.5% across all roles within our Enterprise Agreement.
"The January increases took into account adjustments according to changes in role classifications and funding from the government in relation to the Work Value and Wage case decisions and satisfied the requirements of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Guidance regarding funding delivery.
"IRT had to contribute its own funds to apply the increase."
IRT received just under $5 million to fund the pay rises for 1,662 workers, while the total cost of the pay rise to the organisation was approximately $8.8 million, leaving them left covering the additional $3.8 million.
"This is because the funding doesn’t include the added cost of other entitlements such as annual leave payments, shift allowances and overtime," the spokesperson said.
"IRT pays all its staff, including nurses, at above-award rates and is committed to maintaining its position in the top 10 aged care providers when it comes to pay.
"For example, IRT’s pay rates for our registered nurses range from $42.68 to $54.51. The modern award rates, for the same registered nurses, range from $35.41 to $40.91."
For IRT, the total wage rises for Registered Nurses since July 2023, including the one in January, have resulted in an overall increase of between 18% and 27% in an 18-month period.
"If staff vote in agreement to the 2025 Enterprise Agreement (this week), all staff will receive another 2.5% increase from July this year," the spokesperson said.
"IRT also delivered additional increases to some roles that were not recognised by the Work Value decision," they said.
In 2023-24, IRT recorded a profit of $43.6 million, up from a loss of $4.5 million the previous year, on the back of a 39% increase in revenue.
