Pay plea by staff

Aged care action

NURSING staff at two Geelong aged care facilities have started industrial action as part of a campaign for better pay and staffing levels.

Action at Bupa Bellarine Lakes and Bupa Barrabool forms part of a statewide movement involving 800 nurses and carers across 26 Bupa facilities.

The Moolap staff started action yesterday, with workers at Belmont to join the campaign this morning.

The first stage involves staff wearing red Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Value Recognise Reward Tshirts and handing out information on conditions to residents and visitors.

The action follows 14 months of negotiation for increased wages, staffing levels and better ratio of nurses and carers to residents per shift.

The union claims a registered nurse employed at Bupa earns $4732 less per year, an enrolled nurse earns $3328 less and a carer earns $2548 less.

ANMF members rejected Bupa management’s most recent wage offer of two 2.5 per cent increases in a two-year agreement ending in mid-2019.

The union says the offer would keep its nurses’ and carers’ wages in the bottom 10 per cent of aged care facilities.

It is seeking a wage rise of about 10 per cent in a four-year agreement, plus catch-up rates to meet the industry standard and guarantees around minimum staffing and skill mix.

Acting secretary of the ANMF Victorian branch Paul Gilbert said the action was a “last resort” by staff who feel “stretched and undervalued”.

“Nurses and carers should not have to fight for staff increases to provide vulnerable elderly Victorians with sufficient clinical nursing and personal care staff and a wage that reflects the value of this work,” Mr Gilbert said.

The action will be ongoing until a resolution is reached.