Aged care workers across the country have voted to take industrial action over acute staff shortages and continuing low rates of pay, and their union says the mood for strike action prior to the election is “very strong”.
The United Workers Union says members at five aged care providers collectively employing 7,000 workers have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, with three more ballots due in the next week.
Workers at major providers Bluecare and Southern Cross Care have joined Anglicare, Hall and Prior, and Churches of Christ to endorse industrial action, including strikes, ceasing paperwork, speaking to the media and clients’ families, and wearing badges.
UWU aged care director Carolyn Smith says the ballot results have weighed clearly in favour of industrial action. Most votes were 90% or above in support of action. One smaller provider voted 100% in favour.
“It’s numbers I’ve never seen before,” she told the Guardian.
Smith said the timing of any industrial action was yet to be decided, but flagged it was highly likely to take place prior to the 21 May election.
“There is a very strong mood for action and there is a very strong mood for action before the election,” she said. “Aged care workers have been ignored for so long and they know this is their moment to make a point.”
The series of ballots, first reported by News Corp, is notable because they have occurred across the nation. Bluecare is based in Queensland, Southern Cross Care in South Australia, and Hall and Prior is Western Australia-based.
The ballots come as the Fair Work Commission prepares to hear a claim to lift the pay of aged care workers 25% above the award. The hearing into that claim is due to start next week.
It also comes as both parties make major election pledges to better fund aged care. Labor has promised a nurse in every aged care provider 24 hours a day. The Coalition, in response to the aged care royal commission, made significant funding promises to boost the number of home care packages and pay aged care workers an $800 bonus. Both parties have pledged to fund any pay rise awarded by the Fair Work Commission.
Smith said workers were simply “sick of being told that Australia cannot afford to pay them properly”.
“They are sick of propping up a broken system,” she said. “They are sick of their hard work not quite making up for the chronic understaffing in the system, so they are physically and emotionally exhausted by never really giving the quality of care that they know the people they are looking after deserve.”
Last week, the nation’s largest home care provider, myHomecare Group, warned that its staff were at “breaking point”.
Speaking to the Guardian, the company’s chief executive Stuart Miller said turnover in the sector remained “nothing short of abysmal” and that the $800 bonuses from the Coalition had meant “not a thing” in terms of staff retention.
The three additional ballots will be held by UWU members at Aegis and Regis in WA and Bolton Clarke (formerly Allity) in South Australia.
