The Guardian 28 June, 2006
Elderly face WorkChoices assault
Nursing homes are using WorkChoices to slash levels of care to vulnerable residents, according to the Australian Nurses Federation (ANF).
The Aged Care Services Australia Group (ACSAG) is sacking 49 Victorian nurses, drastically cutting hours of others and slashing wages, in a move that will rebound on residents.
"Already stretched staff will be stretched even further and they won’t be able to provide the same levels of care", ANF Victorian State Secretary, Lisa Fitzpatrick, said.
The Nurses Federation says ACSAG intends cutting 1042 hours of nursing care a week from five homes it runs in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Moe.
"When you take that many hours away from caring for residents, you have to expect residents in these facilities will suffer", she said.
"These changes are WorkChoices driven."
Aged Care Services Group has cited "operational reasons" for the massive cutbacks. It is reclassifying qualified nurses as personal care workers in a bid to strip up to $4 an hour out of wage packets.
The private company forecasts an 8.5 percent return on shareholder investments. "Obviously this company is all about looking after shareholder profits instead of residents care", Fitzpatrick said.
ASAG care doesn’t come cheap. Some residents hand over $2000 a month for deluxe rooms, on top of a $150,000 up-front payment.