The federal secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Annie Butler, said the union had warned that providers would replace enrolled nurses with lower-paid care workers unless the government mandated minimum care minutes for enrolled nurses too.
She said Southern Cross Care seemed to be the tip of a potential iceberg, with nurses reporting that other providers have been offering care worker contracts to enrolled nurses in New South Wales and South Australia.
"If it's not stopped, it's going to start rolling out across the country. It is absolutely in opposition to what the government wants and what the government is trying to achieve."
Read full article