A Labor backbencher and doctor says the party must commit to funding pay rises in the embattled aged care sector as a key union ramps up pressure on the ALP to support its wage case.
South-west Sydney MP Dr Michael Freelander said on Monday the time for talking was over and action was needed to ensure adequate training and remuneration for aged care workers.
Labor backbencher and paediatrician Michael Freelander wants the party to deliver a stronger stance on aged care.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
His comments came after Health Services Union national president Gerard Hayes warned on Friday he would withhold election campaign funding from Labor unless he was satisfied by the strength of its stance on aged care wages.
The HSU has lodged an application in the Fair Work Commission for a 25 per cent, or $5 a week, pay rise for aged care workers. The sector is in crisis, with hundreds of residents dying during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff leaving the sector in droves and the government forced to send in Defence to help.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has promised to make a submission to Fair Work supporting a pay rise if Labor wins government but has not committed to a specific amount, while the party’s aged care spokeswoman, Clare O’Neil, has said funding “will rely on the decision made by the independent umpire”.
“I will be disappointed if the party doesn’t take a much stronger stand but I expect they will,” Dr Freelander told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, adding his own position related to more than just wages and the sector “has to be a priority”.
“I think really the time for talking’s got to be over and we need action, and by that we need to make sure we’ve got an adequately trained and adequately remunerated workforce.
“I really hope the party comes to the party and does the right thing.”
Dr Freelander, a paediatrician who was on a cross-parliamentary inquiry into aged care whose 2018 findings preceded the royal commission, didn’t specifically push for the 25 per cent rise sought by the union but agreed it was a well-deserved figure and said he would “like to see a significant increase” in pay.
“Definitely. These people work very hard and it’s not easy work,” he said.
“I would be looking for an increase in pay and conditions and a commitment to a long-term plan to implement the findings of the royal commission.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declined to endorse a pay rise in the wage case, saying the matter is up to the workplace umpire.
Ms O’Neil has previously described a $2 billion wage rise sought by workers as “a matter of justice”. That figure is at the lower end of public funding an HSU-commissioned analysis found was required to bolster the system.
Mr Hayes last week said Mr Albanese’s statements were “all nice fluffy stuff” but “it doesn’t commit to anything”.
“We will be intending to make a significant contribution to the ALP campaign, but we won’t be doing that until such time as members can understand the support we’d be getting from an ALP government,” he said at the time.
Labor declined to respond to Mr Hayes’ comments last week, as did the Australian Council of Trade Unions, however, Dr Freelander said he “strongly supported” Mr Hayes.
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