Thursday Island aged care workers rally, saying pay, conditions and cultural awareness is inadequate

The issue of aged care pay and worker conditions has reached the remote Torres Strait Islands as workers rallied outside of a local facility. FIND OUT WHY.

THURSDAY ISLAND aged care staff went on strike today, protesting against pay and conditions, as well as what they say is an inadequate level of cultural awareness in their local aged care organisation.

About 30 aged care and Queensland Health staff protested outside Thursday Island’s Star of the Sea aged care facility. The rally was held in conjunction with a nationwide strike organised by the United Workers Union.

“There is no dedicated groundsmen, maintenance person or first aid officer here. We should have staff allocated to those positions,” said a protest spokesman, who has requested not to be named.

“If we need anything fixed, or if a part of the facility is unsafe, we need to wait for a month before someone travels from Cairns to fix it.”

Thursday Island aged care staff and union members rally outside of Star of the Sea aged care facility, saying that the high staff turnover is having a detrimental impact upon residents.

Staff also protested against wages, saying they are too low to meet the cost of living on Thursday Island. Although no specific amount was specified, the protest spokesman said any increase would be better than the pay workers were currently enduring.

“I currently earn $24.89 per hour, this isn’t enough. Freight and delivery drives up the costs of local products. We need our pay increased to meet those costs.”

The cultural awareness of temporary staff, often sourced outside of the Torres Strait Islands, was also an issue.

“The temporary staff have the mentality ‘every Indigenous community is the same.’ This isn’t true, and the six-week rotations they are on isn’t enough time to build a bond and trust with the elders, the residents. This is very important in our culture.”

Protesters said they were relieved that their particular concerns were finally being raised in a public forum, but still felt frustrated by the slow progress on EBA negotiations.

“It was mixed emotions here today,” said the spokesman.

The issue of EBA negotiations, as well as pay and conditions, in private aged care facilities is an ongoing concern in Far North Queensland.

A UnitingCare spokesperson said the enterprise agreement negotiations between Blue Care, the parent company of Star of the Sea, and employees and bargaining representatives are productive and ongoing.

“We continue to encourage our employees to participate actively in these negotiations and support their right to take protected industrial action.

“The health, wellbeing and safety of our residents is paramount and Blue Care will ensure essential care is maintained at all our facilities at all times.”

Originally published as Thursday Island aged care workers rally, saying pay, conditions and cultural awareness is inadequate