Unions have seized on a decision by the national industrial tribunal to give paid pandemic leave to aged care staff, arguing some casual employees will go to work sick because they do not work the regular hours needed to qualify for the payment.
Aged care workers across Australia will be given the paid pandemic leave to encourage them to stay home if they have symptoms of the coronavirus after Victoria recorded its highest daily case numbers during the pandemic on Monday.
Workers in protective gear at a Melbourne aged care home.Credit: Penny Stephens
Residents and workers in aged care facilities have been badly hit by the second COVID-19 wave in Victoria.
Five commissioners on the Fair Work Commission on Monday decided aged care workers, including nurses, should be given paid pandemic leave but casuals will only qualify if they work "regular and systematic" shifts.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus welcomed the decision but said it would not "remove the trap door for casual workers with irregular hours".
"What this decision shows is that there is a need for paid pandemic leave and, while the economy is struggling, it should be government-funded for all workers so no one is even considering having to go to work with mild symptoms just to pay the bills."
The decision was made just four hours after the commissioners received the last pieces of evidence from the industry groups and unions. It follows the highest recorded total of cases in Victoria on Monday, with 532 new cases and six deaths, five of them in aged care.
Employers will bear the immediate cost of the scheme, which industry groups had warned could push some of the agencies that provide badly needed casual workers to aged care homes out of the market. The commissioners dismissed that concern, saying the cost could be recouped from aged care homes or the federal government through its aid package to the sector in Victoria.
Tim Hicks, general manager of advocacy at Leading Age Services Australia, an industry group, said the federal government needed to provide more money to pay for the new leave.
"It is critical that aged care providers are supported financially by governments, with paid pandemic leave to be implemented across the nation," Mr Hicks said. "It is crucial that no staff or providers are disadvantaged during these challenging times."
While Victoria has been hit hardest by the virus, the commissioners said the situation in NSW was "not encouraging" and justified the extension of leave to workers in other states. It said casual workers did not have sick leave and full-time workers might have exhausted it or been unable to use it if they were not actually sick, but still had to isolate because they had come into contact with a COVID-19 case.
"The requirement for self-isolation is primarily to prevent the spread of infection which, in the aged care sector, is especially critical because of the vulnerability of aged persons to COVID-19 fatalities," the commissioners said.
The commission is yet to determine exactly how paid pandemic leave will work, but signalled each worker would get up to two weeks' leave each time they have to isolate because they have COVID-19 symptoms or have come into contact with a suspected case. It will apply to those workers under industry awards, which are the minimum pay and conditions rules.
Casual workers will be eligible for the new leave but only those employed on a "regular and systematic basis". Unlike with the federal government's JobKeeper scheme, there is no minimum amount of time casuals need to have been getting regular shifts before qualifying.
Lloyd Williams, national secretary of the Health Services Union, which helped run the union case for the additional leave, welcomed the decision. He said the same leave should be extended to community and home care workers.
The additional leave will last for three months, but could be extended.
Nick Bonyhady is industrial relations reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based between Sydney and Parliament House in Canberra.
Most Viewed in Politics
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zbWguY29tLmF1L3BvbGl0aWNzL2ZlZGVyYWwvYWdlZC1jYXJlLXdvcmtlcnMtYWNyb3NzLWF1c3RyYWxpYS13aWxsLWJlLWdpdmVuLXBhaWQtcGFuZGVtaWMtbGVhdmUtMjAyMDA3MjctcDU1Znl5Lmh0bWzSAYEBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuc21oLmNvbS5hdS9wb2xpdGljcy9mZWRlcmFsL2FnZWQtY2FyZS13b3JrZXJzLWFjcm9zcy1hdXN0cmFsaWEtd2lsbC1iZS1naXZlbi1wYWlkLXBhbmRlbWljLWxlYXZlLTIwMjAwNzI3LXA1NWZ5eS5odG1s?oc=5
2020-07-27 09:11:00Z
52780945960167
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Aged care workers across Australia will be given paid pandemic leave - Sydney Morning Herald"
Post a Comment