A new ministerial report on aged care is being welcomed as a step towards a more integrated system for older New Zealanders, but the Public Service Association says the reforms will fail unless they also address pay equity, job security and working conditions for the people delivering care.

The PSA, which represents thousands of workers caring for older people in their own homes, says the report correctly identifies the need for a sustainable and capable workforce, but does not go far enough on how that workforce should be supported.

PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the central issue was simple: New Zealand cannot build a stronger aged care system while continuing to underpay and destabilise the workers it depends on.

“More than ever, as our population ages, we need to get this system right and built to last, but the key to that is a workforce that is fairly paid and protected for the vital work those caring for the elderly do,” she said.

Report backs a more integrated aged care system

The PSA says it supports the report’s broader vision of a more integrated aged care system, particularly one that allows older New Zealanders to remain in their own homes for longer.

That direction is likely to become increasingly important as the population ages and demand for home-based support grows.

The report itself, according to the PSA, acknowledges that a more integrated system will not be achievable without a sustainable and capable workforce.

That acknowledgement is important because aged care reform is not only about service design, funding structures or provider models.

It also depends on whether enough workers are willing and able to stay in the sector.

Pay equity remains the biggest point of tension

The PSA’s strongest criticism is that workforce pay and conditions were excluded from the scope of the review.

Fitzsimons said that created a contradiction.

If the system requires a stable, trained and capable workforce, she argued, then pay equity and secure employment cannot be treated as separate issues.

The union is calling on all political parties ahead of the election to commit to restoring and maintaining what it describes as the legally established pay equity rate for home support workers.

For the PSA, this is not a side issue.

It is the foundation of whether reform can actually work.

Home support workers face insecure hours

The union is also raising concerns about the way many home support workers are employed.

According to the PSA, workers can be left chasing fragmented shifts without guaranteed hours.

That creates uncertainty not only around income, but around whether workers can build a sustainable career in the sector.

Fitzsimons said the current approach needs to shift towards more secure and predictable employment.

The PSA wants a model based on fairly paid, guaranteed shift work rather than piecemeal rostering.

That would allow workers to plan their lives, remain in the sector and treat care work as a viable long-term career rather than insecure casual employment.

Why workforce stability matters

The workforce issue is directly connected to the quality and continuity of care older people receive.

Aged care, particularly home support, depends heavily on relationships.

When staff turnover is high, older people can end up dealing with different carers, inconsistent schedules and reduced continuity.

A more stable workforce can improve trust, service quality and confidence for both clients and families.

The PSA’s argument is that underfunding does not simply affect workers.

It eventually affects the people receiving care.

Employment protection also welcomed

The PSA has welcomed a recommendation to extend Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act to care and support workers.

That part of the law is designed to protect workers’ jobs and conditions when contracts move from one provider to another.

The union says it has already settled cases confirming such coverage, but wants the Government to make the protection clear and permanent.

For workers in a sector where contracts can change hands, that protection can be significant.

Without it, workers may face uncertainty about whether their pay, conditions or employment will continue when providers change.

Travel costs are another unresolved issue

The report also proposes changes around travel between clients.

This is another area where the PSA says reform is needed.

Home support workers can spend significant parts of their working day travelling between clients.

The union says it has previously taken legal action under the Wages Protection Act because workers were being short-changed on the real cost of using their vehicles.

The PSA supports modernising the way in-between travel is handled, but says any new system must properly reflect the actual cost of vehicle use.

That means not treating travel as an incidental expense when it is an unavoidable part of the job.

Workforce strategy needs union involvement

The PSA also supports the idea of a dedicated workforce strategy for care and support workers.

But it says that strategy should be developed in genuine partnership with unions rather than through consultation after key decisions have already been made.

For the union, that distinction matters.

Workers and their representatives have direct experience of the pressures in the sector, including pay, travel, rostering, recruitment and retention.

A workforce strategy designed without them risks missing the practical problems that have already driven people out of aged care.

A growing issue as New Zealand ages

The broader context is difficult to ignore.

New Zealand’s population is ageing, which means demand for aged care and home support is likely to increase.

At the same time, the sector is already under pressure to recruit and retain enough workers.

That makes the workforce question central to any reform.

If more older people are to remain at home for longer, then more reliable home support will be needed.

If the jobs remain poorly paid or insecure, recruitment and retention will remain difficult.

That is why the PSA is framing pay equity as part of system design rather than simply a wage dispute.

The political test

With an election approaching, the report is also likely to become part of the wider debate over health, public services and workforce funding.

The PSA is calling on all parties to state clearly whether they will fund the system in a way that improves pay and job security for care workers.

That is where the political argument now sits.

Aged care reform can promise better integration, better coordination and more support at home.

But the PSA’s warning is that none of that will be sustainable if the people delivering the care continue to leave because the jobs are insecure or underpaid.

The key question

The report may provide a useful direction for aged care reform, but the real test will be whether implementation matches the ambition.

If the Government wants more older New Zealanders supported safely in their own homes, it will need a workforce large enough, skilled enough and stable enough to deliver that care.

The PSA says that means addressing pay equity, guaranteed hours, travel costs and employment protections at the same time as wider structural reform.

Without that, the union argues, New Zealand risks redesigning the system without fixing one of its biggest weaknesses.

Source

Public Service Association statement on the Ministerial Advisory Group report on aged care.