Hundreds of aged care workers in Queensland and Western Australia have walked off the job in a stand for better pay and work conditions, but South Australian aged care staff remained diligently at work.
An application by almost 1,700 Southern Cross Care employees to strike for three-and-a-half hours was rejected by the Fair Work Commission on the grounds that the strike would cause significant staff shortages that would threaten the safety of aged care residents.
Instead, commissioner Chris Platt delayed the industrial action by two weeks, which will allow South Australian workers to strike a day after the May 21 federal election.
In his decision, Mr Platt said the industrial action would put about 300 residents at two Southern Cross Care sites at considerable risk and would increase the workload of non-union members by between 28 and 76 per cent.
"It is clear that the proposed protected industrial action will add extra pressure to a workplace which is already under pressure," he said.
"I cannot foresee how the sites with greater union density will be able to cope with the loss of labour.
"It is probable that the reduction in labour as a result of the protected industrial action will place some of the most vulnerable members of our population at risk."
Workers want better pay and staffing rates
About 100 South Australian aged care employees used their day off to rally in Adelaide's CBD, demanding a 25 per cent pay rise and better staff-to-patient ratios.
Southern Cross Care worker Despina, who did not want her surname used, said it was "ironic" staffing shortages were the reason her colleagues were unable to strike, given that was precisely the issue they were protesting.
"We're always understaffed and run off our feet. Staffing has always been an issue, but COVID did make it worse," she said.
"That's why we're protesting. For them to say we can't protest because we're understaffed … it's a joke.
Fellow aged care worker and protester Grace Gbala said she wanted her voice to be heard before the federal election.
"Our pay needs to increase by at least 30 per cent. Or maybe more. People are trusting us with their parents and we want to give them the care they deserve," she said.
"I'll be voting Labor because they want to change aged care for the better."
Another worker, Shannon Antonio, said increasing pay was crucial to addressing staff shortages, mirroring one of the main recommendations handed down in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety last year.
"Even when they're trying to staff us at decent levels, we can't get people to fill those shifts because we can't get anyone to work in this industry.
"Why would you, when you can make more money serving coffee, or working at a check-out, or delivering pizza?
"It's really hard to get young people to pursue a career in aged care when they're going to get paid more in a job where they don't need any training, with a lot less responsibility and stress."
Union blasts Fair Work decision
United Workers Union aged care director Carolyn Smith blasted the Fair Work Commission's decision to delay industrial action, arguing Southern Cross Care had made no effort to replace staff.
"When pressed, Southern Cross Care admitted they had not sought extra workers to cover possible strike action or considered offering extra pay to staff those shifts," Ms Smith said.
"That doesn't sound like an employer making a serious effort to address their outlandish claim that residents were at risk of dying if workers walked off the job between 11:30am and 4:30pm."
A spokesman for Southern Cross Care said the provider was "advocating for change on behalf of staff".
"We are … supporting the Australian Aged Care Collaboration, who are petitioning all political parties to commit additional funds towards a wage increase for aged care staff as recommended by the royal commission," he said.
"This is a reasonable expectation of consumer groups, aged care staff, the union movement and the broader community."
Labor MP joins in Queensland protest
In Queensland, about 300 aged care workers walked off the job and gathered in the Brisbane CBD, protesting for a 25 per cent pay increase and better conditions.
Federal opposition aged care services spokeswoman Clare O'Neil said it was "diabolical" the recommendations from the aged care royal commission had not been implemented.
"The aged care workers who are standing behind me are taking strike action, really as a last straw. They have been fighting for years and years and years to get the issues in aged care addressed," Ms O'Neil said.
"Now when Scott Morrison cut funding to aged care when he was treasurer, it didn't affect his life; that affected the life of the people who are standing behind me and the residents that they cared for.
"What aged care workers face today is a situation that just can't continue. They are not able to do the task that we are asking of them every day."
The federal government announced on the day the royal commission's report was handed down that it would spend almost $500 million on immediate measures to overhaul the aged care sector.
Glenda, an aged care worker of 24 years, said staff did the best they could but the situation was dire.
"The last couple of years with the pandemic has brought out the worst again, unfortunately," she said.
"It's mentally draining. The residents still expect the same level of care if there's six of you on, but sometimes there's only three of you.
"They still need their showers, they still need to be fed, they still need to be toileted, so most of us stay behind to do that extra because we don't want to see them suffer."
A similar number of protesters gathered at the cultural centre in the Perth suburb of Northbridge to call for better pay and conditions for aged care workers.
