The Australia’s aged care workers say a massive pay rise would keep staff in the industry have logged a claim for a massive 60 percent increase which they say is necessary to keep staff in the industry. The aged care workers could seek hourly pay rises of between $8 and $10 an hour if an application to begin wage bargaining with the sector’s many employers of approved.

The LHMU said “There are about 110,000 resident aged-care workers in Australia and around 93 per cent are women. Annual industry staff turnover is about 25 per cent of the workforce and only 28 per cent stay for more than six years. Under the unrealistic modern award their pay rates range from just $15.92 per hour for support staff to $18.68 per hour for qualified supervisors.”

It may be noted that the union and employers can begin negotiations, if it decides in favour of the application. Louise Tarrant, the LHMU national secretary, “

Fair Work Australia can force employers to bargain, but it shouldn't come to that

It's in everyone's interest to fix the deepening crisis in this failing sector. Members would hold meetings across the country later this week to discuss future action”.

Ms Anderson says that low wages are to blame for chronic staff shortages in the sector “Given the conditions we work under, there's not enough money in it to keep staff, so we have a very high staff turnover, You get a core of staff that have stayed there for 20 years because they love the job and that's really the only the reason they stay - for the residents, the people we care for”.

She said “Unless we get a pay increase it really will be an industry in crisis. Seven per cent is around about $650 million - that's a lot of money. What we find in aged care is that people with qualifications like Kerry are being paid up to $10 less an hour than equivalent people working ... in male-dominated industries”.

The proposed pay rise would see wages lifted by up to $10 an hour and the application would also see changes to minimum staff to resident ratios while it is the first claim the union has lodged under the Fair Work Australia rules that allow low paid workers to bargain with multiple employers.