Mark Butler announced Workforce Compact for aged care workers. The sector says it is ‘dead in the water’

The Labor Government has announced it will subsidize pay increases for aged care workers but 3.5% over four years, but requires the sector to support an enterprise bargaining agreement that will see wages increase by up to 30% over four years. However the government will only provide its 3.5% if operators agreed to provide the rest of the increase – which according to LASA, they do not agree. The detail is not clear but the indication is that operators will have to fund over four years an 8.5% increase for enrolled nurses above the award rate and a 12.6% increase for registered nurses. Other workers must receive a 2.75% per year increase. This means a personal carer on a minimum award rate will receive a yearly increase of about 5.25%.

Wages account for 70% of a care facility cost. The challenge remains that government funding for accommodation is decreasing per bed income while wages are being arbitrarily increased, according to the sector. A problem.