Category: Community Support

Thousands of care and support workers help sick, injured, and elderly New Zealanders live at home with dignity, but they are denied the pay, respect, and security of hours necessary to do the same.

Two unions represent these workers, the Public Service Association and E tū. Alongside Grey Power, they are calling for urgent government action to fix the broken sector. On the evening of Wednesday 14 April, support workers will gather at Parliament to discuss their plight with Ministers and MPs.

Despite years of promises and major reforms with various degrees of implementation, a landmark new study by AUT Business School confirms home support workers remain at the bottom of the heap in New Zealand’s public health system. They’re burned out, they don’t feel listened to, and they’re sick of it.

The current chaotic mess of competing provider companies, with fragmented funding from ACC, DHBs and the Ministry of Health, must be comprehensively overhauled and replaced with a nationally consistent funding framework that guarantees secure hours, breaks, paid travel time and safe workloads.

E tū delegate Jenny Stewart, who has been a homecare support worker for 14 years, says she feels the sector is “in crisis.”

“We are feeling very worn out and stressed a lot of the time. We feel that we don’t matter to anyone [higher up],” she says.

“We’re going out in our own vehicles, unseen – an invisible workforce. Home-based support is a vital service, but it relies on a workforce that doesn’t have proper job security.”

Despite milestones like the Equal Pay Settlement, guaranteed hours, and an in-between travel time payment, Jenny says few hours are actually guaranteed. Hours may not be not replaced if clients die or go into care, and insufficient travel reimbursement means insecure, low incomes. Many leave the sector for “more hours and more money”, she says.

Workers use their own cars, own mobile phones, and frequently work without breaks. Time allotted for client care is also being cut, Jenny says.

“We are subsidising the whole sector. The Government needs to look at the issue with eyes wide open. The demand for home-based support is going to grow and it needs to be sustainable.”

PSA delegate Donna Wealleans has worked in the industry for a decade, and she is tired of seeing improvements undermined in practice by systemic failures.

“Guaranteed hours haven’t worked out for a lot of support workers. Some of us can’t take time off, while others still can’t get the hours we need,” she says.

Donna worries high turnover and deep levels of stress among her colleagues have created a “ticking time bomb”, which will ultimately put the clients they care for at risk.

“New Zealand can’t afford this to continue when we have an ageing population and a lot more people will need support.”

“It doesn’t need to be this way, it shouldn’t be this way, but the system has not been properly organised and funded by the Government. That’s where the buck stops.”

Grey Power National President Jan Pentecost says client care is being sacrificed under the current model.

“The quality of care clients receive is dependent on the employment model for our carers, and carers cannot keep battling to survive in a sector which treats them, and their work, as expendable,” she says.

“Grey Power wants a home support system which allows people to stay healthy and safe at home, and ensures providers have sufficient numbers of fully trained staff, and relief staff, to meet their contracted case load at all times.”

ENDS

What has been the impact of COVID19 on Community Support workers?

Are you interested in talking to other workers about their experiences?

In partnership with E tū and PSA unions, AUT Business School researchers are interested in hearing about the experiences of community support workers during the COVID-19 period, and the impact of these experiences on the wellbeing of community support workers.  We see community support workers as a core part of the essential workforce, and a part that needs their voices heard!

Our research aims to form recommendations in partnership with the workforce, to help initiate improvements in workers wellbeing, and to inform the response in any future disruptive events. 

The research is going to be conducted using a participant researcher approach, which means that community support workers, who have been trained by the research team, will be the interviewers.  This makes sure they have an understanding of what workers go through at work every day.

We are currently looking for people interested in being part of the project as participant interviewers. 

This would involve:

• A training day, where you would be interviewed by the research team about your experiences, and trained in the interview process.
• You would then interview three community support workers, recording the interviews on either your mobile phone or a digital recording device, at a time and place that suits you both. Each interview would last approximately one hour.
• You would send the interview files to the research team.
• After the research team has had the interviews transcribed and we have formed initial themes, we will have another meeting with participant researchers (possibly virtually) to get your feedback on our interpretation of what is being said by participants.
• We will send you all draft recommendations to give feedback if you wish.

This work would be paid, with participant researchers being compensated for their time and travel in these activities. 

If you are confident in talking to others, and are wanting to be part of something that can potentially impact the wellbeing of the community support workforce, please contact us to find out more!

If you are interested in finding out more, please email Katherine Ravenswood: kravensw@aut.ac.nz

Homecare support workers employed by Lifewise – a church charity – are resorting to picketing yet again, as the organisation continues to refuse to negotiate liveable pay and better conditions, while also facing criticism over a recent fundraising campaign.

Lifewise is a charitable trust which is a part of the Methodist Church of New Zealand. The organisation has come under fire this week, as reported by The Spinoff, about the lack of transparency in its latest fundraising drive for Merge Café – a service it runs for homeless people in Auckland.

Meanwhile, E tū Lifewise homecare support members have been striking and picketing since December for increased sick and bereavement leave and fair hours of work to be incorporated into a first-time collective agreement.

Lifewise also threatened members with three separate lockout periods in February and reneged on improved leave and conditions agreed on before the first COVID-19 lockdown.

An E tū Lifewise member, who prefers not to be named, says they feel like the organisation is ignoring them.

“It’s going on two years of negotiations now and no results. We’re voicing all the nitty gritty about what we want in our collective, but it doesn’t seem to register,” she says.

“It’s like they’re not listening, they’re not really taking our needs into consideration. It’s the necessities we’re asking for – it’s not going to break the bank.”

E tū Director Kirsty McCully says the moves by the charity are some of the most “aggressive” she’s ever seen against workers in the homecare sector.

“For the past four months, Lifewise workers have been driven to fight publicly for reasonable, simple improvements to their pay and conditions – all while their employer has tried to intimidate and disrespect with lockouts and broken promises.

“It seems like a crazy response when you consider the request: several additional days of sick and bereavement leave, and fair guaranteed hours, so that these already low-paid workers are not left struggling,” she says.

“It makes absolutely no sense to us that a church organisation, and a seemingly well-endowed one at that, is refusing to treat its own workers with integrity and to fund these modest, yet vital improvements.”

Desperation drove workers to the picket line in December, as they have now been in negotiations for their first collective agreement since mid-2019, Kirsty says.

“If COVID-19 has shown us anything, it’s the value of health and healthcare services.

“We can’t forget that Lifewise workers do jobs most of us wouldn’t or can’t – caring for the sick, elderly, and vulnerable in our communities.

“As an employer with such community standing and mission, Lifewise has a responsibility to ensure its own workers are looked after too.”

Lifewise community picket

When: Friday 19 March

Where: Outside Lifewise’s head office, 385 Queen Street, Auckland 1011

Time: 12.30pm–2.30pm

Available: Homecare delegates will be available for comment at the picket. Please contact Kirsty McCully for more information and to be put in touch with delegates.

ENDS

For more information and comment contact:
Kirsty McCully
027 204 6354

Lifewise homecare support workers are continuing their fight for better working conditions, even as they now face a possible lockout from their employer in response to their strike action and pickets.

From Saturday, members will be going ahead with more strike and picket action, outside the Lifewise offices in Mount Eden.

Lifewise, an Auckland-based organisation which is also part of the Methodist Church, has issued a lockout notice to all E tū Lifewise members.

For more than a year and a half, Lifewise members, who care for vulnerable Kiwis including seniors and those living with disability, have been trying to negotiate their first collective agreement with increased sick and bereavement leave.

Members also need fair guaranteed hours as they struggle to survive financially, with some on as little as nine guaranteed hours of work a fortnight.

E tū delegate Helen Taufa says the move to lockout members is “extreme”, but members will not back down.

“Instead of coming back to the bargaining table to negotiate and talk about things, [Lifewise] has gone to this extreme.

“For them to lockout all members – it’s harsh. We’re disappointed it’s come to that point,” she says.

Another member, who doesn’t wish to be named, says her family struggles to pay the bills even though she and her husband both work, and taking action is the only way to get the attention of Lifewise.

“Striking is the only way to get more money for my family,” she says.

Members of the Methodist church and family members of those receiving care have also strongly criticised the lockout move from Lifewise and are “deeply concerned” about the organisation’s treatment of members during the current dispute.

A church member says: “The Methodist Church has a strong culture of social justice and fairness. I am deeply ashamed of Lifewise’s behaviour.”

An E tū Director Kirsty McCully says in New Zealand, low-paid care workers shouldn’t have to go on strike to win hours they can survive on, or to know when they will be working from week to week.

“The employment model in homecare is broken, and these workers are bearing the brunt of it,” Kirsty says.

“Now, a ruthless employer, usually known for its good work in the community, is pushing its own workforce to the poverty line with a lockout which would see workers without income.

“However, the workers have said they are steadfast and will stick together until they achieve a fair deal at Lifewise.”

Lifewise members will be picketing on Saturday 23 January and Monday 25 January at 227 Mount Eden Road, Mount Eden from 7am-11am, and striking from Saturday to Monday.

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Kirsty McCully, 027 204 6354

Lifewise homecare workers continue their action to win a fair collective agreement which protects quality care at the Auckland-based homecare provider, taking strike action from 6am-9pm tomorrow (Wednesday) and picketing outside their employer’s premises at 227 Mount Eden Road from 7am until 11:30am.

Family members have started to complain to the Auckland District Health Board in support of the reasonable demands of the workers but are unhappy about the poor coordination of care from Lifewise, and the increased turnover of long serving employees due to their working environment and low hours.

In addition to client complaints, members of the Methodist Church, of which Lifewise is a part, have begun to express their concern that the homecare arm of The Lifewise Trust is failing its employees and clients.

“It’s a shame to me that Lifewise is not responding to the direct concerns of homecare workers about their low hours which keep them in poverty,” says an Auckland lay preacher who prefers to remain anonymous.

“It’s up to those of us in the church who feel strongly about the social justice principles to make the church step up and practice what it preaches,” she says.                                                                                                                                     

“I and a number of my colleagues will be taking this up within all the channels available to us – within our Synods, with our church ministers, and with our church representatives.”

E tū Director Kirsty McCully says that the homecare workers are taking their stand for themselves, but also for future generations of homecare workers.

“They can’t survive on the hours they’re receiving and the model at Lifewise is set up to keep employees in poverty, shouldering all the financial risk for the organisation,” she says.

ENDS

All are invited to the picket tomorrow at 227 Mount Eden Road from 7am until 11:30am. Members of the Methodist Church will be attending the picket.

For more information and comment: Kirsty McCully, 027 204 6354

It’s not a very ‘Happy New Year’ for Lifewise homecare workers, who will go on strike for at least the next three full days unless the Lifewise Trust is prepared to settle a fair collective agreement. 

Homecare workers at Lifewise provide care and support to our elders and people with disabilities for the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB). The care workers have been in negotiations with their employer for more than a year and a half.

The workers want to see commitments to deal with their guaranteed hours of work, the lack of which is keeping some of them on the poverty line. They are also calling for improved leave, which their employer previously agreed to and then reneged on.

“Lifewise does a lot of good work in the community and they say they stand for social justice, but there’s a double standard at Lifewise when their own workforce of homecare workers can’t afford to live decent lives,” says care worker and E tū delegate Helen Taufa.

E tū Director Kirsty McCully says this is an issue of equity for the largely women and Pasifika workforce.

“These women cannot live on their incomes, and the inadequate conditions at Lifewise contribute to the disadvantage that these Pasifika women experience,” Kirsty says.

“It’s one example of a much wider problem. The Human Rights Commission has recently launched an inquiry into the pay gap for Pasifika women and E tū has invited the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo to meet with Lifewise homecare members and hear their experiences.

“It’s a shame to have to call out an organisation which otherwise does good work, but Lifewise, if it truly supports justice for the community, should get its own house in order first and stop contributing to these societal issues of poverty and inequality,” Kirsty says.

“Lifewise is a part of the Methodist church, and as such we feel it should be above disrespecting its homecare workforce in this way.”

Homecare workers will picket at the Lifewise Trust’s CBD offices at 385 Queen Street from 7:15-9:30am on Tuesday 5 January, and their strike action will continue in the following days. They will be joined by members of the Pasifika community, including Cook Island drummers.

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Kirsty McCully, 027 204 6354, kirsty.mccully@etu.nz

Home support workers are hoping their strike action on Friday will lead to positive change in conditions and culture for both support workers and their clients at their Auckland-based provider Lifewise.

Last year, the organisation agreed to increase sick leave and bereavement leave in a proposed collective agreement but then went back on their word.

Workers have also asked for their guaranteed hours to be increased, as for many the low number of weekly hours means a constant financial struggle and daily disruption.

A home support worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she thinks there is definitely “hope for a better deal”.

“We need more sick leave than we are given, and my hours are terrible. I’m signed up for work each day from 8am until around 3pm, five days a week, but I often finish the day having only done around 2.5 hours.”

“We really want [Lifewise’s] respect and I hope they’ll take notice of the reasons behind all our strikes.”

Another member says she feels the organisation doesn’t care about their workers.

“The low number of guaranteed hours is a constant strain for workers – there are always fewer hours work than our availability to work,” she says.

Many members felt they couldn’t afford to risk taking time off work to strike for better conditions, she says.

“I know of one worker who had jobs booked at 1pm and 6pm, but then there’s a big gap in-between. We’re just robots running around from A to B – there’s no consideration given to how we’ll get there or the gaps in our workdays.”

A Director at E tū, Kirsty McCully, says home support workers are desperate for better working conditions.

“The financial stress of having so few guaranteed hours means workers are even considering leaving the sector,” she says.

“They feel deeply disrespected, ignored, and undervalued by the organisation they work for, which is really upsetting, considering the absolutely vital role they play in making sure families and their communities can continue to function every day.”

Kirsty says anyone could find themselves in the situation of needing home support at some point in their lives.

“How would we feel knowing our home support workers were struggling to survive themselves, or had to come to work sick because they didn’t have enough sick leave left not to put us at risk?

“This is about our elderly and some of our most vulnerable who really need assistance to keep living in their own homes.

“If anything, we urgently need to rebuild better in the face of COVID-19. Lifewise, with their dedicated workforce, has a chance to do this right now.”

Lifewise workers will strike and picket on Friday 18 December at Lifewise offices, including 227 Mount Eden Road, Mount Eden, from 7am to 11am.

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Kirsty McCully, 027 204 6354