On Monday, support workers in South Canterbury took to the corner of Wai-Iti Rd and Evans St with placards as part of a nationwide rally for pay equity in the sector.
PSA union delegate Karen Goodman said they had been fighting for a new settlement for the past two years after their previous settlement had reached its limit.
"The last one was for seven years and it had a limit on it. That limit came up and the providers are saying there isn’t the funding to keep doing pay rises so now we need to lobby to get some money from the government.
"It’s not just us, it’s rest-home workers, it’s all care and support workers. There are about 65,000 throughout New Zealand.
"For this one we’re hoping there won’t be a limit, it will just be something that goes forever and we will go up each year as we should, like many other jobs."
She said it had now reached the point where support workers had to take action.
"We just want to get it out there in the public about the pay equity settlement and the fact it needs to be settled and signed off.
"We’ve waited two years already. It needs to be done. [Minister of Health] Shane Reti needs to sign it off and push it through.
"Last time it went through the courts and I think this time we are heading in that direction as well."
Mrs Goodman said the sector was under a lot of pressure with high turnover rates and rest-homes around the region at capacity.
"It’s not just about Timaru, it’s New Zealand-wide. There is a real shortage of workers across the sector.
"We are trying to say that people are trying to run houses on this ... and they may be the sole breadwinner.
"If this was a male-dominated workplace would they stand for this or be OK?"
Community support worker Angela Hall said she had very much been feeling the effects of the current economic climate.
"Everything has gone up, the cost of living has gone up — everything but our pay — and we’re having to fight all the time to get our wages to go up just so then we can all survive.
"There’s all our experience and everything we have to do. It’s not an easy job, it’s not just sitting and having a cup of coffee and making sure they’re [the people we care for] OK.
"We’re getting them ready for the day and if we’re not there, well they’re stuck in bed."
Mrs Hall said she felt as if support workers were the forgotten ones.
"Even during Covid, Jacinda [Ardern] was standing up there thanking all the nurses and hospitals but not once were support workers mentioned.
"The acknowledgement is just not there, unfortunately."
She said that support workers generally worked split shifts including weekends and were not afforded penal rates for unsociable hours.
Mrs Goodman said she believed the job of a support worker was often misunderstood.
"If you were to have an accident or medical mishap tomorrow and you can’t walk, who’s going to help you get out of bed, shower, get dressed, prepare your meals and go to the toilet?
"It’s going to be us and if you don’t want to go into a rest-home — where there isn’t any room in them anyway — then it will be us as community support workers
... Without us you wouldn’t be able to get out of the bed and there are people like that who rely solely on us. We think we deserved to be paid properly and what we deserve for reasons such as that.
"It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to come in and shower someone or toilet them.
"We do it because we love it and want to care for people but I think that goodwill often gets taken advantage of by the higher-ups."
She was confident the rally would have a positive affect.
"We shouldn’t have to keep fighting for a fair pay. We have confidence the government will agree and show they value the work we do by signing the settlement now."
