Opinion: Fair pay will deliver community dividends

The Fair Work Commission’s 15% interim wage increase for the nation’s aged care workers marks a critical step in recognising the significant value that some of Australia’s lowest paid workers deliver on behalf of our community. To say it’s long overdue is an understatement.

The arguably modest increase breaks what has become a well-worn cycle of underpayment for an industry characterised by high numbers of women and migrants relative to other sectors of the economy. Some 90% of aged care workers are female, and 30% are born overseas.

On top of this, the care needs of older Australians are increasingly acute, and their preferences for how and where they receive care is changing. There is a stronger focus on maintaining connections to community and culture. In practice, this means that we need an aged care system that is able to respond to the diverse make-up and life experiences of older people.

Having effectively got to first base with the interim pay rise, the focus from here should be ensuring that the nation’s aged care workforce continues to receive fair and reasonable financial recognition for the essential work it delivers. This must include both back office and frontline staff whose collective efforts allow an increasingly aging population to access high-quality care. It will be important to understand when the pay rise will end up in the pockets of aged care workers — as yesterday is too late.

Indeed, whatever the role, we know that aged care workers as a rule go above and beyond to deliver care no matter the circumstances. Their work has become as much about addressing the social, emotional, cultural and spiritual needs of older Australians as the physical and clinical.

A more engaged, valued and supported aged care workforce will ensure consistently high-quality care for older Australians. By extension, as a community we will reap the significant health, social and economic dividends that come from:

• attracting more people into a sector in desperate need of more workers;
• easing the mental and physical strain on the current workforce;
• ensuring older Australians have access to a level of care that puts greater focus on the social, emotional, physical and clinical needs of the person.
   

Increasing wages is just one part of the challenge in attracting and retaining aged care workers.

Encouraging best practice and building a culture of continuous improvement within the sector is equally important if older people are to receive the care and support they want and deserve.

Based on current forecasts, Australia is predicted to face a shortage of 110,000 frontline aged care workers by 2030. Failing to address the pay gap will only amplify an already sizeable challenge for us as a nation.

Having accepted the expert advice that care work “has been historically undervalued”, the ball is very much in the court of the Fair Work Commission to follow through with a further increase.

It is the least we can do for the 1.2 million Australians who access aged care services, and for every person who relies on a functional, sustainable aged care sector.

And that, my friends, is each and every one of us.

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