Nursing home operators, largely run by charities and churches, claimed the increase would put financial pressure on more than 900 NSW operators and lead to wage pressures in nursing homes around Australia.

Secretary of the NSW Nurses’ Association Brett Holmes said the decision represented a significant wage increase for aged nurses. He said when the wage case began there were vocationally trained nurses, known as “assistants in nursing”, who had dedicated their lives to the industry but were earning as little as $25,000. Their base wage now goes to $30,900.

Out of step with his colleagues, chairman of Moran Healthcare Douglas Moran, one of the largest provider of aged-care services in Australia, described the increase as justice for the dedication and hard work from nurses dealing with increasingly difficult cases as hospitals failed to cope with an ageing population.

AGED-CARE nurses in NSW have received an immediate 6 per cent pay rise following a two-year campaign by the Nurses’ Association which had already seen wages rise 11 per cent since 2003. There will be a further 6 per cent rise next year, bringing the total rises to 23 per cent in three years.

Nursing home operators, largely run by charities and churches, claimed the increase would put financial pressure on more than 900 NSW operators and lead to wage pressures in nursing homes around Australia.

In handing down the pay rise , the full bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission cited increased work value, including more acute levels of care and the long-term shortage of nurses.

Aged and Community Services Association spokesman Paul Sadler said federal Government funding did not cover the increased wages bill. He said the decision would cost operators $38.2 million in the next year, and a further $40.5 million from March next year.

“This is on top of pay increases in August 2004 which cost the industry $36 million,” he said. “The industry is on a financial knife-edge. No industry can absorb pay increases of nearly $115 million in three years — yet that’s what’s facing nursing homes in NSW.”

Secretary of the NSW Nurses’ Association Brett Holmes said the decision represented a significant wage increase for aged nurses. He said when the wage case began there were vocationally trained nurses, known as “assistants in nursing”, who had dedicated their lives to the industry but were earning as little as $25,000. Their base wage now goes to $30,900.

“People pay more per hour for the veterinary services for their dog than they do for the care of their ageing mother,” he said. “Theaged-care sector is relying on the passion and goodwill of nurses to care for our most vulnerable members.”

Out of step with his colleagues, chairman of Moran Healthcare Douglas Moran, one of the largest provider of aged-care services in Australia, described the increase as justice for the dedication and hard work from nurses dealing with increasingly difficult cases as hospitals failed to cope with an ageing population.

“It has been causing me some concern for some time,” he said. “I know how hard the nurses work, and with the cost of living continuously increasing I have to agree with the increase. We have to be fair in our thinking on these things. I visit my facilities, I see the hard work they are all doing, and I think our churches and charities and other operators have to be realistic about this.”

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott said the government had provided an extra $2.2 billion to the aged-care sector in last year’s budget. “Some of that money was to ensure that nurses in the aged-care sector were better paid so we certainly are in favour of paying nurses appropriately,” he said.

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