8 February 2022
Aged care nurses and workers will rally outside Senator for South Australia Simon Birmingham’s electorate office in Hilton this morning to protest his Government’s continued failure to address the crisis within the demoralised sector.
The rally will coincide with a similarly COVID-safe protest outside Parliament in Canberra today with aged care nurses and workers, the Australian and Nursing Midwifery Federation, the ACTU and politicians voicing their frustration and anger over the Morrison Government’s failure to protect aged care workers and residents and to demand immediate action to fix the crisis and prevent any more unnecessary deaths in Australia’s nursing homes.
The country’s aged care system is on the verge of collapse – and Mr Morrison has let this happen. His Government has overseen:
- Dangerously unsafe staffing levels;
- Inadequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE);
- Lack of rapid antigen tests (RATs);
- Failed delivery of booster shots;
- Cynical cash ‘bonus’ incentives for poorly-paid workers, but no commitment to real wage increases;
- A failure to act decisively on the Royal Commission’s recommendations for mandated staff ratios; and
Ministers Hunt and Colbeck refusing to accept their responsibility for the lives of older Australians and instead deflecting blame for their failures on to the sector, the workforce, and even aged care residents themselves. “The complete lack of planning and support from the Morrison Government has been a disaster for our residential aged care facilities, with hundreds of deaths and thousands of workers and residents infected with COVID,’’ ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/Secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM said.
“Almost a quarter of aged care shifts nationally are going unfilled weekly, with about a third of the workforce lost to infection or isolation.
“These shortages, exacerbated by widespread resignations due to intolerable working conditions and burnout, has resulted in elderly people missing out on medication, meals, even water.
“Aged care workers are dedicated and passionate about their residents and have been left devastated by their inability to provide adequate care.’’
Despite the enormous responsibility that comes with their job and the risk of exposure to COVID, aged care workers continue to be paid a pittance – a mere $21.62 an hour on a level one wage – less than fast-food workers.
“This Government must act to mandate staff ratios and fair wages that retain and attract workers to the aged care sector, before it collapses completely,’’ Ms Dabars said.
ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said today: “The message from our exhausted aged care nurses, nursing home residents and their families is loud and clear – no more talking, no more ‘taskforces’, no more ‘inquiries’, no more deferring responsibility – only action.
“We are fed-up with this Government for abandoning aged care workers and residents and we’re angry that Mr Morrison has let this all happen. Every day that Mr Morrison fails to act on safe, minimum staffing ratios, fails to deliver a decent, permanent pay rise for underpaid workers and fails to show our aged care workers and residents dignity and respect, is another day that elderly Australians in nursing homes continue to suffer.”