Aged care workers will receive a 15 per cent interim pay rise in what is a “promising first step” in reforming the sector, according to Aged Care Minister Anika Wells.
The workers will get an extra four dollars per hour, after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled on Friday the existing minimum rates did not “properly compensate employees for the value“.
Wells said the pay rise was “desperately needed” and something the workers “thoroughly deserved”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said things needed to change otherwise there would not be anyone to look after older Australians.
“The interim report of the aged care royal commission was titled with one word, ‘neglect’,” he said.
“It documented over half of the aged care residents not getting the nutrition they need.”
He said the decision also worked toward closing the gender pay gap as 85 per cent of the workers in the sector are female.
The union wanted a 25 per cent pay boost but the FWC has left open the possibility of recommending more increases.
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Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott said it was a win for low-paid workers in a feminised industry.
“It shows that the awards system can lift the wages of hundreds of thousands of Australians when it works,” Westacott said.
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“The determining factor in many feminised industries like aged care and childcare is government funding, so we welcome the government’s commitment to paying for this increase.
“We want low-paid people to earn more and the awards system is the best place to do it.”
About 300,000 aged care workers will receive the pay rise.
