The government will push for a significant and meaningful pay rise for workers in the aged care sector in a pitch to the industrial umpire.
Details of the submission are set to be revealed on Monday as Labor pledges to fund any pay increase determined by the Fair Work Commission.
The commission is considering whether to lift the pay rates for residential and home care workers following the findings of the royal commission into aged care.
Labor minister Tanya Plibersek said her government would find the extra money needed to pay for a wage increase.
“You’ve got to think about what aged care workers are earning at the moment – they’re earning as little as $22 an hour, so you can literally earn more stacking shelves at a supermarket than caring for some of our most vulnerable Australians,” she told Seven Network.
“We can’t find enough staff to work in aged care. One of the reasons is that … they can’t afford to keep working in aged care because can’t pay the bills on 22 bucks an hour.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he supported a lift in aged care worker wages.
“The government promised at the last election that they would fix the situation in aged care, and we want to make sure that they’re not making a bad situation worse,” he told reporters in Brisbane.
“But we certainly support an increase in the pay for aged care workers.”
Asked what the new level of pay should be, he said: “That’s an issue for the Fair Work Commission.”
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said on Sunday the government would push for a significant rise in wages for aged care workers, but its submission would not have a figure attached to it.
Unions are advocating for at least a 25 per cent pay rise for aged care employees.
Ms Wells acknowledged pressures on the federal budget mean any wage increases must be meaningful but also sustainable.
Laws responding to the recommendations of the aged care royal commission were the first to pass parliament under the new Labor government.
Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said the government’s proposed wage increases needed to be reasonable when asked if she would back a pay rise.
“We know that aged care workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the land, but we also want to make sure that if they do get a pay rise, the system is sustainable,” she told Sky News.
“That the aged cared system can stand up under the weight of that increased cost to their businesses.”
