“I don’t think it’s what Labor people stand for,I think it would be what[former Coalition aged care minister] Richard Colbeck and[Coalition health minister] Greg Hunt would stand for,” he said.
Delivering pay rises was central to Labor’s election strategy. The party backed the aged care wage case and invoking the plight of the largely female workforce in its mission to close the gender pay gap.
The royal commission into the sector called on the Commonwealth and providers to overhaul the historical underpayment of the feminised workforce.
The day after the industrial umpire awardedthe interim 15 per cent pay rise to aged-care workers on November 4,Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the decision as a welcome first step in recognising “the heroes of the pandemic.”
A joint submission between multiple unions and aged-care providers lodged on Friday called for the government to fund the interim wage rise “in full as soon as possible.”
“This increase in pay rates is not to be phased in over time and instead should occur from the first full pay period on or after a single specific date,” the submission to the Fair Work Commission reads.