25 August 2005
Aged Care Funding Swallowed Up In Tax Cuts For Top Earners
"The nearly $4 billion National wants to give in tax cuts leaves nothing to fix the funding crisis in aged care," said
NZNO spokeswoman Cee Payne-Harker today.
"While National's tax cuts gives the most to the country's highest income earners, around half a billion is needed to
fix the issues of staffing and pay across the entire health and disability workforce, including residential care, home
support and disability," she said.
Cee Payne-Harker will address a Fair Share For Aged Care protest and rally in the Dunedin Octagon tomorrow, organised by
Dunedin residential aged care providers. NZNO and aged care providers have been campaigning for government funding for
the sector to pay the aged care workforce what they are worth.
"National has been quick to highlight underfunding of aged care but slow to commit the necessary funding to fix the pay
gap causing massive recruitment and retention problems in the sector and resulting in a pitifully underpaid workforce,"
said Cee Payne-Harker. Cee Payne-Harker said the New Zealand Nurses Organisation supported Healthcare Providers NZ call
for voters to consider parties' policies on closing the pay gap between the aged care workforce and those working in
public hospitals before they vote.
"NZNO is challenging all political parties to demonstrate how they will ensure a decent standard of care for our older
people and how they will ensure the workforce in aged care is fairly paid, adequately trained and maintained at a safe
staffing level."
Cee Payne-Harker said workers in aged care needed the support of strong industrial law to bargain collectively for pay
levels matching those in public hospitals.
"While Labour hasn't done enough to turn back the clock to pre-1990, funding for the sector has increased by $131
million over the past two years and, under the Employment Relations Act, workers have the right to organise in unions
and bargain collectively," said Cee Payne-Harker.
ENDS