If you are having a bad day at work, sitting in front of your computer, take a brief moment to think about the days and nights of some of our lowest paid workers- those who care for the elderly.  

My grandmother is in a home in Wellington, nearing the end of a long time in care as a result of Alzheimers. It is hard going to visit her (and to be honest I don’t go anywhere near as often as I should). She can not communicate, does not recognise anyone and has a very low quality of life.  If it is hard going to visit her, it is difficult to imagine how hard it is to look after her.  I have huge admiration for all of the staff- nurses, cleaners, cooks, orderlies.  Day in day out they do hard, physically and mentally draining work. 

The government has come to the party in this year’s Budget with a substantial sum of money specifically dedicated to improving the pay and conditions of those who look after our elderly.  The Service Workers Union and Nurses Organisation’s Fair Share for Aged Care campaign has been excellent, and they deserve plaudits for having not let up in their pressure.  Most providers have come on board and worked with the DHBs to get a deal finalised.  What is truly disappointing is the attitude of Healthcare Providers NZ who are seeking judicial review proceedings against the DHBs. 

While the funding increase and the resulting increased wages are great, we also need to find ways of increasing low pay across the board in New Zealand. One important step in this is to support the training, professional development and recognition of skills of those who work as carers, cleaners etc.  These are in fact highly skilled people who already contribute an enormous amount to the running of complicated and sometimes dangerous businesses.  Consider for a moment how important a cleaner is to the running of a resthome or hospital.  What is more important than the control of infection and illness in a rest home or hospital?  We need to recognise the skills, enhance training and increase expertise.  On the back of this, better productivity and higher wages can and should follow.

a briefer post today.  busy all around, and it is also my birthday (please, no presents ;-).  I see I share it with Henry Winkler, aka the Fonz.  Now, that is cool.