Australian aged care workers have not yet received the first installment of the $800 retention bonus promised by Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a speech at the National Press Club on February 1st.
The payment received criticism due to its status as a taxable bonus: many say that it is not enough, has been issued in lieu of a pay rise for aged care workers and that the timing of the announcement is disingenuous, coming too late and shortly before a federal election.
The federal government’s inaction on the findings of last year’s The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has also fueled cynical sentiment around the bonus. Pay rates have not increased, career paths have not been reformed and measures to counter job insecurity and casualisation have not been taken.
Pete Whelan 