Wage Equity

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:41): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Industrial Relations on the topic of same job, same pay.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: This morning I met with Elizabeth and Erin, two working women on the frontline of our healthcare system. Elizabeth works at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, where she cooks meals and serves patients lying sick in their hospital beds. Elizabeth explained to me that, in addition to feeding the sick, she is often the only person many patients get to speak to in a whole day as she does her rounds. I also met Erin. Erin works in aged care in Barmera, looking after the elderly. She drove to Adelaide to share her story with me about chronic understaffing in the Riverland. They can't find enough aged-care staff because the wages are too low.

These two working women are literally caring for the sick and the elderly and they can't make ends meet because they are paid 20 per cent less than their interstate workmates doing the same job. My questions to the Minister for Industrial Relations are:

1. Does the minister think Elizabeth and Erin are worth less than their interstate workmates doing the same job?

2. Does the Labor government support the principle of same job, same pay and, if so, will they commit to paying South Australian healthcare workers the same as their workmates employed interstate and federally?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:42): I thank the honourable member for his questions, and I congratulate him on meeting workers who are absolutely critical to keeping South Australians healthy, safe and ticking over. I, too, have had the privilege today of meeting a number of workers from right around South Australia, right across the metropolitan area, and people who work in aged-care hospitals in Ceduna, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Port Lincoln and Murray Bridge, who I was fortunate to discuss matters with today.

I absolutely agree with the honourable member that many of these workers, who do things like sterilise instruments that then operate on people, are, as the honourable member said, sometimes the only person a person living with a disability or in an aged-care setting talk to during the day. These workers are not just simply working in those areas; they in a critical way keep South Australians healthy, keep South Australians safe and look after many in South Australia. The honourable member is right: some of these workers are among the very lowest paid in South Australia.

I wish to acknowledge the union that represents many of these workers, the United Workers Union, with whom I have had a very long association, as have a number of my colleagues, including the Hon. Mira El Dannawi, who has had a very long association working with and in industries that the United Workers Union represents. We are absolutely committed to real wage increases for these workers.

We have had a number of very productive negotiations with the union that represents these workers, and I am very pleased to say that in a number of areas we found many points of agreement, including very substantial wage increases to bring people up to federal levels, particularly in the disability and aged-care areas. We are not quite there yet, but I am confident that with the goodwill that is being shown, and the recognition of the work that many of these people do for other South Australians, we will come to an agreement that we will see real wage increases for some of the lowest paid South Australians.