ACTU says more support needed for carers
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called for action to help workers who care for elderly or disabled relatives.
Otherwise, they say, Australia will face a work/care collision from an ageing population.
Unless measures such as more flexible working hours and improved carers leave are introduced, workers who look after relatives who are elderly, chronically ill, disabled, or even school-aged children will face the same pressure to choose between their job and family as parents of pre-schoolers.
An ACTU submission to the Better Care for our Carers Parliamentary inquiry says that if carers are unable to participate in the paid workforce, Australia will lose a labour supply of skilled and experienced workers in the prime of their careers.
