Sep 08, 2020

Omission of aged care staff from retention payment is “shameful”, CEO tells minister

 

The CEO of a New South Wales retirement village has called on the federal health minister and a local MP to explain to key aged care workers – a laundry supervisor, a cleaner, a grounds manager, a caterer, a maintenance officer, and a receptionist – why they are not entitled to the Aged Care Workers Retention Bonus.

The payment designed to support the workforce actually “divides” the workforce, wrote Shane Neaves, chief executive officer, Peninsula Villages, in a letter to aged care minister Richard Colbeck and Lucy Wicks MP, Member for Robertson.

“I openly invite you Senator and our local member to address the ‘non-direct care’ workers who have risked their own personal safety to work in the aged care sector and provide important interaction with our residents as to why they aren’t being rewarded.

Mr Neaves said the omission of these key staff from the payments was “shameful” and “just plain mean”.

A letter from the Department of Health in response fails to acknowledge the important contributions of these workers.

“The COVID-19 aged care retention bonus is a measure focused on the retention of direct care workers, recognising the particular role they play in the care of individuals,” Mr Colbeck wrote.

We have published the two letters below. 

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Screen Shot 2020-09-08 at 11.30.12 am
Screen Shot 2020-09-08 at 11.30.27 am

Screen Shot 2020-09-08 at 11.30.42 am
Screen Shot 2020-09-08 at 11.33.33 am

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Where the money goes “…Healthcare for All?—[our $270B Defence budget]. Were [we] challenged by the but how will you pay for it question? No. Did taxpayers’ rates go up to pay for this military budget? No. Were other programs cut to fund this exorbitant investment in violence? No. That is not how it works….” https://americanethnologist.org/features/pandemic-diaries/post-covid-fantasies/reparative-public-goods-and-the-future-of-finance-a-fantasy-in-three-parts

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Hands-on COVID-19 training necessary to avoid complacency

Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic first swept across the globe, infection prevention and control remain a key focus for aged care providers in light of widespread pandemic fatigue. Read More

Blame should not be confused with accountability, expert responds to royal commission report

  The royal commission’s report on the aged care sector’s failed response to the pandemic does not go far enough and a full inquiry should be held, says a leading aged care expert. The report by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on the aged care sector’s response to COVID-19 was written... Read More

Vaccine rollout in aged care behind schedule

The vaccine rollout to aged care homes is behind schedule with only 26 aged care homes receiving vaccinations in the first two days of the rollout, despite more than 240 homes having been scheduled to receive them by Friday. Read More
Advertisement