Caregivers call out for respect and recognition this Caregivers Week

Auckland caregivers will be wearing a new piece of uniform tomorrow as hundreds of staff in the major corporate chains mark International Caregivers Week.

Union members across dozens of sites will wear stickers in solidarity with one another and to highlight serious employment issues in Aged Care.

Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota lead organiser Jim Meyer says caregivers and support staff employed by Eldercare, Guardian Healthcare Group, Metlifecare and others are among the 20,000 low paid, hard working and undervalued professionals caring for the elderly.

“When the minimum wage moves to $11.25 an hour on 1 April, many caregivers will get a pay rise, yet they are looking after our most vulnerable citizens,” Mr Meyer says.

Caregivers care deeply about their profession. Their undying loyalty to their residents means employers can use that loyalty against them when it comes to wage increases.

SFWU union delegate Connie Fell says Caregivers Week should be about raising awareness around the work done by caregivers and recognising their efforts.

“This is a very hard job and a very important job, yet many of us are on the minimum wage or just above it. It’s about respect,” she says.

Mr Meyer says it is well past time that those who care for the elderly received the recognition they are due.

“As the share market booms in the aged care industry, there’s growing unease that it’s been on the backs of hard-working women who struggle to get by each week on poverty wages,” he says.

Ends

© Scoop Media