The Health Worker Fighting Not Just For His Job – But For His Son’s Needs
29 | 09 |2008
Paul McClintock works at Birribi, an Intellectually Handicapped Unit in Rockhampton where his 25 year old son has been a resident for the last eighteen years.
Paul, who has worked there for eight years, is the only breadwinner in his family. His wife Roslyn has to stay at home to look after their youngest child who suffers from autism.
More than 5000 people are expected at rallies of health workers tomorrow – and Paul will speak at the Rockhampton rally. For him the union campaign has a special meaning because his 25-year-old son Aaron suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is a resident in Birribi.
“We have about thirty residents at Birribi. The staff here deliver a very high standard of care. Now they’re talking about getting someone off the street to replace us. Will they be able to care for the residents as well as we do?” Paul asks.
The Queensland Government has announced plans to privatise State Government aged care facilities, and Paul is concerned that this will mean Birribi is privatised too.
“We fall under the aged care umbrella within Queensland Health. What will it mean to the residents and their families if this place is privatised? Will I have to pay for Aaron to stay here?”
The health workforce is also concerned about plans to bring in contract workers – undermining existing job security rights.
“ But for me it’s not just job security – I fear for my son and the other residents if there is an increase in the casualised staff. They won’t know the needs of the residents as well as I do, as well as any permanent workers. They aren’t there for a long enough span of hours to develop a real relationship with the residents, a relationship which is key to their well- being.”
Health workers and other State Government employees in Rockhampton will converge on Haig Park from 12:15pm tomorrow.
AWU State Secretary, Bill Ludwig, says it’s important that the Queensland Premier hears the views of the workforce in Queensland Health. These people are campaigning to ensure the state has the best health system.
“ That’s why we will have the voices of Health workers heard at the rallies tomorrow in Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay and Cairns,” Bill Ludwig said. “
Listen carefully you will hear that all our members are asking for is the respect for the jobs they do, recognition of the importance of their place in the health system, and the resources to do their jobs properly. The health system can’t operate without them,” he said.
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