EMMA MCBRIDE MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CARERS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR DOBELL

AGED CARE WORKERS DESERVE MORE THAN A ‘BONUS’

The Prime Minister’s plan to offer Australian aged care workers an $800 bonus payment, three years into a pandemic, is nothing more than a political ploy on the eve of the election.

The aged care sector is in crisis after eight years of neglect under this Government, and the bungled COVID-19 pandemic response has left many older Australians vulnerable and at risk.

Aged care workers are overworked, understaffed, and underpaid and they deserve better.

“Aged care workers, who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic for over two years, are exhausted and they deserve more than a small pay-off for the work they do,” Federal Member for Dobell, Emma McBride said.

“This plan is nothing more than a cheap political stunt from the Prime Minister, on the eve of an election.

“Aged care workers need an urgent pay rise so they can continue to care for older Australians.”

Ms. McBride says this isn’t the only time the Government has tried to pull a stunt like this.

“The Government rolled out one-off ‘retention’ payments to aged care workers at the start of the pandemic, but unfortunately many workers missed out,” she said.

“Laundry and maintenance workers, and admin staff were all ineligible for these payments because the Government said they didn’t provide direct care to residents.”

With the Omicron outbreak, there are now more than 20,000 active COVID cases in Australian aged care facilities.

At the same time, more than a quarter of aged care staff say they can’t get access to free Rapid Antigen Tests.

“This is disgraceful,” Ms. McBride said.

“The Government has failed to secure more RATs for aged care workers, and they’ve failed to pay them a fair wage – it just goes to show they don’t care about aged care.”

WEDNESDAY 2 FEBRUARY, 2022