Rise for mental health aides

Equity promised for support workers ignored in 2017 deal

Mental health support workers are on their way to pay equity, the Government has announced. Minister of Health Dr David Clark yesterday met unions and employers to confirm that the Government would negotiate an agreement to extend the Care and Support Pay Equity Settlement to mental health and addiction support workers.

The move will bring about 3800 workers into line with other carers, who were awarded a major payout last year.

The equal pay settlement — instigated by rest home care worker Kristine Bartlett — saw the Government lift the pay rates of 55,000 care workers, most of whom are women.

Bartlett’s case had argued that caregivers, male and female, were paid poorly because their job was done mainly by women. Although she was employed by Terranova rest home, her wages were effectively set by a government subsidy paid to the rest home by the Ministry of Health.

The win lifted her wages from $15.75 an hour to $23.50, with further pay rises over five years to $27 an hour. Workers in aged residential care, home support and disability services also received pay rises.

But mental health care workers were excluded from the settlement, and the National Government introduced legislation making it harder for such groups to negotiate their case in future.

Clark said yesterday’s announcement was “correcting a problem created by the previous Government, which failed to make the settlement broad enough to include mental health and addiction workers”.

He added: “We are doing the right thing by these workers.

“Paying our mental health and addiction workers what they deserve will also help ensure we have a robust workforce to look after people needing their care.”

The Ministry of Health will now begin formal negotiations with unions and employers.

Clark said informal meetings had already been taking place, and negotiations should proceed “at a good pace”.

He would not estimate how much the settlement was expected to cost the Government, saying that more would be revealed in this year’s Budget.

“The workers should be paid what they deserve — I don’t think anyone will quibble over that.

“One of the most challenging jobs out there is working with mental health and addiction sufferers. They are doing the work that is at the coalface and makes a real difference in our society.”