Some Illawarra disability support workers have logged shifts of up to 20 hours straight to make up for workforce shortages during the Omicron outbreak, as a new survey shows the sector is facing a major crisis.
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Wollongong disability worker and Australian Services Union delegate Feargus Manning described a "horrendous" summer, where workers have been stretched to the limit because of illness and COVID-19 isolation rules.
"Workers are very, very tired, you can hear in in their voices, and you can see it - they're calling in too exhausted to do their shifts," he said.
"Over the past two months, we've had lots of people working double shifts, and I've seen lots of people working for 16 hours straight.
"I saw someone who worked for close to 20 hours straight and I had one worker I saw who did 21 days in a 25 days period - so it's been reaching crisis point."
The results of a survey released last week by the four unions representing the sector are only likely to exacerbate the shortage, with one in three workers saying they were planning to quit in the next 12 months.
This came in the week after a parliamentary inquiry found a shortfall of 83,000 full-time disability workers.
The survey of 2500 people showed nearly a fifth of respondents (18%) had contracted COVID-19 since November 2021, and nearly half of those used their annual paid leave for their recovery. A further 28% had no access to any paid leave or government payments.
The Disability Trust chief operating officer Edward Birt said workforce churn was a real problem, especially as organisations invested a large amount of training and support into their staff.
He said the outbreak, especially between December 20 and early February, had been "extremely difficult" for the Illawarra-based organisation, with staff working "massive overtime" to cover essential shifts.
"We were really pleased with the way our staff responded and people really banded together but the whole period has been incredibly difficult," he said.
"We're very strongly supportive of the unions' position for paid isolation leave for essential workers. It's a no brainer, because you want people to do the right thing and keep colleagues and vulnerable people safe.
"We've provided additional leave for our workers, but providers like us can only do so much. The disability sector under incredible pressure in terms of pricing from the NDIS, so that means that every dollar counts."
As restrictions continue to lift, Mr Manning said Wollongong workers were continuing to be affected by the virus and the need to isolate to protect vulnerable clients.
"We're very much still in the middle of this - any suggestion that we're coming out of it any time soon is completely false," he said.
"The disability sector is another sector - like the aged care sector and the health sector - where the government needs to step up and provide support. There are very vulnerable people who need support here."
ASU Secretary for NSW and ACT Natalie Lang said the unions were calling on the Federal Government to improve safety, conditions and pay in the sector.
"This is an imminent crisis, we need to make these respected, sustainable and properly valued jobs," she said.
"This is important work, and it needs to be met with a wage that is appropriate for such important work, and they need job security and entitlement security."
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
