Labor has been directed to fund only 11.5 per cent of its 15 per cent pay rise for nurses in aged care, as the Federal Government’s independent pricing adviser excluded one in four nurses in its calculation for the Fair Work wage boost. Source: The Australian.
Advice from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) assumed 23 per cent of nurses would not receive any pay rise because they were already paid above the award.
Since it assumed Labor’s 15 per cent pay rise affected a smaller pool of workers, the pricing body has told the government that an 11.5 per cent funding increase is all that is needed to fund a pay rise for the remaining 76 per cent of nurses.
The rest of the pay rise is money being paid directly to employers in the hope it will be passed on to wage increases for workers, with the Government promising a wage rise to all aged care workers.
The new independent advice comes despite Labor’s rhetoric that it is fully funding a “historic” wage boost for aged care workers in a bid to attract more workers to the sector ahead of new reforms, including 24/7 nursing and mandated care minutes.
The advice has sparked concern from advocates who say providers could be forced to pay for a widely-expected wage rise out of their own pocket, despite the sector facing significant financial losses.
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Independent pricing adviser excludes nurses from Labor’s pay increase (By Jess Malcolm, The Australian)
