Wage increase: the “fiscally responsible” go-slow decision at Christmas couldn’t be worse

What do we all do at Christmas? We review where we are at with our family – are things good, are things bad, what should be our action plan? If you are an aged care worker experiencing your third and worst COVID Christmas, your highest shift vacancies, inflation at 8%+, headlines that the economic recovery is going to be slower than predicted – what do you discuss with your family?

Will it be, as Minister Wells said this week, that the “responsible fiscal” decision is to not pay the awarded 15% aged care pay increase until July 23 (10%) and July 24 (5%)?

Will it be a discussion that it is fair for care staff to get this wage increase and also fair for non-care staff to wait for something later?

I don’t think so. Families will be discussing how the family will regain a quality of life in 2023, and respect for work and sacrifice delivered to their end employer (the Government). They will be discussing getting a new job in a new sector.

All the Government’s talk prior to the Fair Work Commission decision was around the need for speed and the priority that workers are in the aged care and health system.

Now we have a “go slow”. Why would any worker (or operator) trust their government again? They won’t. Nor will the sector unions.

Make no mistakes – the Government has an unparalleled cash problem that needs to be fixed. But in this one fiscally responsible decision, it is moving the actual collapse of the delivery of aged care from possible to probable. Once experienced workers leave the sector, it requires more than one new recruit to replace that lost IP – and there is not this supply.

And while we are talking of collapse, in November the Minister outlined the number of new and refurbished beds we need every year to meet Baby Boomer demand, amounting to an annual investment requirement of $5.5B p.a. The lack of cash and optimism in the aged care system means just $1.5B is currently being invested by operators.

Looking forward, we won’t have a workforce or beds. Merry Christmas.