The NSW Premier has announced a $3,000 bonus for healthcare workers to recognise their work “on the frontline” of the pandemic, but aged care workers, who mostly work for private companies, will miss out.
The state government payment will go to paramedics, midwives, cleaners and all other permanent staff employed by NSW Health.
NSW’s Minister for Employee Relations, Damien Tudehope, said in a statement the $3,000 one-off payment to government health workers was recognition the workforce had gone “above and beyond” during the pandemic.
There is no payment for NSW aged care workers, who are overwhelmingly employed in the private sector, but who also went “above and beyond” and to “extraordinary lengths” during the pandemic.
Earlier this year, aged care workers received a payment of up to $800 in recognition of their work during the pandemic.
Over the last two years, the federal government has issued three Aged Care Worker Retention Bonuses of $800 for residential aged care workers.
Today, Premier Dominic Perrottet also announced a $4.5 billion recruitment drive to hire 10,000 health workers in an effort to ease pressure on struggling hospitals, and will increase the public sector wage cap for health workers from 2.5% to 3% this financial year, and 3.5% next year.
Last week, the Public Service Association set a deadline for the government to commit to a 5.4% pay rise, otherwise it said there would be strike action on Wednesday.
NSW Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes said the union is “gratified” its concerns about the exhausted workforce are being listened to by the NSW government, but they will continue to lobby the state government to have the wages cap abolished.
“For people on modest incomes, like cleaners and security, it is a massive boost that makes up for the pay freeze of 2020. It will allow many to put in place a financial buffer against the rising cost of living,” Mr Hayes said, according to SBS News.
Mr Tudehope asked union bosses to halt planned industrial action following the wage cap decision.
“To all those who are advocating for industrial disputation, let’s talk about this,” he said.
ARE THEY SERIOUS????
So the hundreds of thousands that work in aged and disability get NOTHING. We have nursed our residents and disabled patients through the pandemic EXACTLY THE SAME as NSW Health staff. How do they think this is fair???
Lm working in the Agecare not private l was working in covid pandemic hit, am l entitled for the $3,000?
I think this is bad I was working all throw covit and 0 I do 40or more a fortnight have no other income and 0 so try live on that
I’m a carer for my husband at home who is not mobile and has dementia. Do I receive $3k bonus and an increase in my carers wage?
Im a ain and have worked through covid the same as the private sector this is unfair and discusting
what a joke only Government employed workers get this bonus.Aged care also go above and beyond and get a whole lot less. As for the $800 bonus you have to be full time and again you get taxed on your bonus . Always voted Liberal but they have just lost my vote never again
It isn’t the Liberal govt that is giving this $3000 payment — it is the LABOUR government!
This absolutely disgusting aged carer workers deserve this bonus we are the ones that kept your parents safe if you have one in a facility where are your minds at look at the big picture your loved one would be not here if it was not us carers.
I WORK IN AGE CARE
I had 6 ppl I had to care for, bring meal to, attend cares for, distribute medications for, that were all covid positive, over roughly a period of 2 weeks, that doesn’t include staff that were decimated by COVID. Which also created big shortages, staff were often working short, 1 staff member to 20 residents. That was just the second wave of COVID. Catering staff were also hit bad. Where is our 3,000 bonus, I think me and my colleagues are in titled to don’t u.
We deserve this money! Going in private homes taking chances of getting sick, at least the facility shuts it’s doors, we’re cautious and checking people entering,we couldn’t, we don’t have staff helping us out,and our office was working from home, and wouldn’t come out,We became the front line. We also went down in staff, some of us were working 18-22 hrs straight. We definitely deserve this!!
i am a nurse who is employed by the private sector. i worked 15hr days most weeks 7 days to fill the shortages. But i dont get the $3000
I agree to everyone here. Why do we miss out. Of course it’s only NSW health. We are still struggling, and I’m actually going to work sick because we are so short staffed. This is bs. It should be all healthcare workers. We are all struggling.
Hi lm a support worker. Do l get any bonus.
This is sad for aged care workers. Most of us still have not received the bonuses promised. We also work at a higher client to carer ratio and are responsible for providing care, Cleaning and attending medical observations. It’s no wonder there is such a high turn over of staff and people are leaving the industry.
Why do you think past governments were happy to hand over Aged Care and Disability services to the private companies? Seems we are not Australians once private companies take over. Not the same as all the public servants that keep on getting good pay rises every damb year! As soon as the government hand over anything to private companies it is a lose lose for Aussies in the private sector. Especially Aged Care and Disability. A deliberate case of ,”Not our responsibility now”. Wow they won’t have to be responsible for upping the wages of this sector! The damming thing about all this is that these workers are paying a portion of their small Enterprise Bargaining Agreements through tax, to pay for the public service sector to keep getting pay rises and more staff!
So if you work in residential disabilities you get nothing, as disability workers did not get the 800 and once again miss out on the 3000 we worked just as hard through the pandemic
This is a joke, disability workers and aged care workers a part of the forefront of careers they always seem to be the last thought of. They care for there residence and disability clients in most situations for there life time. They don’t just become careers they are also family, friends and in some cases the last person the aged care person will have before they pass. They damn well deserve more recognition than they get.
And what about a payment for agedcare community workers too. We also worked through the covid pandemic and delivered services too our beautiful clients.
$3000 to all healthcare staff and yet when it came to the Aged Care Bonus only selected staff received this.. The last bonus to Aged Care included cleaners and kitchen staff but not Administration staff. I’m sorry but is Administration not needed? Who do you think filled mountains of shifts from staff off sick, who do you think kept families updated during covid outbreaks and the list goes on. How important do you think we felt when all staff except about 3 in the facility received this last bonus… this is great for anyone who is eligible but what about everyone else who works just as hard be it casual staff, aged care or disability support. We all deserve recognition because we bloody well work hard…
It shows how serious the lab gov is towards seniors citizens take care.
If your input is not happy/ smiley how can you expect the smile on aged people via disappointing careers?
I think everyone who works in health should be getting the payment because in one way or another during this chaos we were involved. I did voted for this government too and I started to regretting doing so.
What happened to the private sector health workers who were on the front line of the Covid pandemic? Sweet FA? This $3000 stinks to high heavan
So just a question as I was a hospital assistant for nsw health in the first year or so of covid worked around the clock cleaning covid room and the facilities to covid standards cooking and delivering meals etc and we didn’t get any payment when they gave nurses the 800 payment in that year so am I included in this 3000 payments now as I have stopped working for nsw health. Is the payment for only the people working now or can you claim it for the time you actually worked and how is it getting paid to each employee etc
Agreed Donna. I slugged through the 2 years of the pandemic and due to training have had to move to QLD. So even thought I did countless hours of unpaid overtime and worked in both Covid wards and fever clinics I won’t see a cent. It should be determined that anyone that worked for greater than 6 months for NSW Health between 1 July 2020 and 1 July 2022 get the payment. It wouldn’t be that hard to organise.
What a joke. I’ve worked through the whole pandemic in aged care.
I’ve been working at 20% staff
Supposed to have 6 staff on in one section and we are lucky to have 2 turn up.
Sometimes Im working just me for 35 residents with 1/2 of them 2 assists.
Gone through two waves of covid, full PPE being worn throughout the day.
Yet we don’t qualify for the payment yeah right
And as for the 800$ payment I only got 400$ last week so the next 400$ will be probably around December.
Also all the people who worked through the pandemic and became burnt out or had to move jobs for training purposes miss out on the payment. Even though they slugged away and sacrifices for the past 2 years, if they have had to move from NSW health they don’t get the payment, but someone who has work for 4 weeks will get it. The distribution is extremely floored and missing many who actually did the work.
I forgot, as aged care workers we get paid SO MUCH MONEY that we dont require a buffer for the increasing cost of living.
Bunch of flops.
I work in aged care (not for profit) we sud all be entitled to the $3000 bonus we worked above and beyond during the pandemic not going out meeting family and friends for fear we wud contact covid we did it for our residents and co workers come on be fair to all the months we had to wear PPE feel like we are not appreciated please concider thank you
I am a Registered Nurse working for a company sub contracted to DVA caring for people 7 days per week. We are on the lowest Registered Nurse award & work split shifts,& use our own car.
Would DVA please give the company $3000 per nurse to pass onto us.
Our local hospital is desperately short of nurses, due to the bad working conditions nurses are leaving in droves.
Our area needs a new hospital, proper nurse patient ratios.
Every nurse could tell the governments how to run the hospitals & retain staff.
Absolute disgrace that aged care workers do not recieve this $3000 payment for all the hard work and suffering that we put up with during the covid pandemic. Working short, contracting the virus, putting our families at risk going home everyday and still we not entitled to the Thank You Payment. WHAT A DISGRACE THIS GOVERNMENT IS, and then to make make matters worse they give themselves a pay rise. Come into aged care and work for the low wage we get but still we turned up everyday looking after our residents during the pandemic but Mr Perrotet still thinks we dont deserve it. DISGRACEFUL
I feel the government is unfair in stating government workers only to receive the bonus it should go to all those that worked just as hard during the pandemic reassess this…
The majority of the Community are of the belief that all Aged Care workers received two bonus payments from Feb to May this year of $400. This is not correct….. As it was based on a percentage of actual hours worked in the fortnight and then taxed on top of that….. Most of the sector received approximately $260. So don’t be of the belief that ALL health care workers are going to pocket $3000. – Won’t happen…. The Gov’t gives with one hand and takes it back with the other.
I work in aged care the governments $800.00 for workers was paid in two instalments with the workers normal pay and was taxed so the workers didn’t get $400.00 extra by the time tax was taken out. Yet again aged care looses out even though we have been face to face with covid and are now in the middle of another outbreak and working daily understaffed.
At least they got $800. I worked full time at a private hospital dealing with public patient over flow, no leave, covid patients and constant over hours worked and we get nothing either. Disgrace.
L work in Agecare not in a private facility, but l am working as a cleaner and l worked through the covid pandemic l want to know why can’t l get the $3,000 it’s not fear for us we all should be getting the one off payment.
Am a aged care worker we do the same work as caring for your residents and we don’t get the $3000 bounces it’s a joke. Just because we are not government workers.
I worked during the whole Covid-19 pandemic as community aged carer.
I have been risking my famand myself driving from client to client and I am not entitled. This is discrimination its disgusting as all of you politicians were at at home safe with your family.
I’m disgusted… and you all wonder why there is shortage off aged care workers…?????
I work in nursing home for the past 10 years I have been a carer for 25 years when the covid hit every care in Australia has done their part working overtime to look after these beautiful residence and why are the nurses are getting this payment wow Australia government we put our family on hold just to look after these residence and not get knowledge for it thank you all the people in parliament House for nothing I think we deserve this money to yes the nurses and doctors done a good job but it’s not as much as how hard it is to be a carer in a nursing home
Well if it isn’t a kick where it hurts already our RNs in Aged Care get $6,000 for recognition this yr (2023). Most don’t even know how to use a hoist! What a shame the NSW government cannot recognize the hard slogbthe Aged Care workers have been through as well. Aren’t we, the AINs, who do it all and are front line worthy of a similar rate of pay. Oh. I forgot. We are so replaceable what with plane loads of foureigners about to come into the sector who don’t join unions unlike the public sector who are spoilt rotten with great rates of pay and do less than half the workload expected in the Aged Care sector. Most of the public hospital staff wouldn’t know what hard work was. So spoilt with cash!! I know Nurses who work in public hospitals and my God the pay is amazing even better when they do double shifts etc My own daughter was paid.$800 for working on a night shift that was outside her contract!!! And here are Aged Care staff working like dogs for no extra just the base rate! But nobody cares that staff are leaving in the droves. We are replaceable with cheap foureign imports!!