The writing’s on the wall in aged care, so let’s get on with it.

“Thousands of aged care caregivers and all fair-minded New Zealanders will be deeply disappointed at the decision by the Aged Care Association to launch yet another appeal in the Kristine Bartlett equal pay case,” said the National Secretary of the Service and Food Workers Union, John Ryall, today.

“Both the Employment Court decision and the recent finding by the Court of Appeal emphatically backed Kristine’s claim that her very low pay after decades of caregiving was due to aged care being a women-dominated sector. The writing’s on the wall, and it is time for government as the funder of the sector and Terra Nova and other aged care providers to get on with determining a fair rate of pay for caregivers.”

John Ryall said the time was over for dragging out the process and wasting money in the courts.

“Every day this case drags on is another day that Kristine Bartlett and thousands of other caregivers are doing one of New Zealand’s hardest jobs for New Zealand’s lowest pay rates. The Employment Court and the Court of Appeal agreed. The reason for this injustice is that caregiving is overwhelmingly carried out by women.”

John Ryall said the union and Kristine would be continuing the battle.

“We know this case is overwhelmingly supported by New Zealanders. We will now review the details of the appeal and determine what our response will be,” he said.

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