新西兰英语 605 Workers caring for elderly people

 　　Workers who care for elderly people in rest homes are poorly paid. A report by the Human Rights Commission¹ to the Prime² Minister recommended better pay. Many are paid the minimum³ wage of $13.50 an hour while carers in public hospital get $3 to $5 an hour more. It is not easy work. Many patients need help to wash, dress, walk and feed themselves. Some patients with memory loss can be angry and difficult. Carers are mostly female⁴ and perhaps this is the reason for low pay.

　　Health care workers who visit elderly people in their own homes are also poorly paid. They also do not get paid enough for petrol and travel time. Some of these carers start work at 7am, visiting people who need help to have a shower and get dressed. Then the health care worker visits again in the evening to help the patient get undressed for bed.

　　Other recommendations⁵ in the report include the need for more male workers. The report also recommended that countries like the Philippines where many carers come from, have good information about our qualifications. There are qualifications for health care workers and the report recommended that all workers have Level 3 qualifications within 18 months of starting a job.

　　The Prime Minister will now have to consider the report.

　　Grammar

　　recommend /suggest + noun⁶ (not a person) or ‘that they have / do …’ You cannot say ‘he suggested me / recommended me’. Instead, use ‘that’: ‘he suggested that I …’

　　Questions

　　Why did the report recommend the need for more male workers?

　　Are female jobs usually poorly paid?

　　If workers spend 20 minutes travelling between patients’ homes, should they be paid travelling time?

1 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 minimum   

adj.最低的，最小的；n.最小量，最低限度

参考例句：

• What is the minimum price?最低价是多少？
• Today's minimum temperature is 10℃.今天的最低气温是10℃。

4 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

5 recommendations   

n.推荐( recommendation的名词复数 )；推荐信；正式建议；提议

参考例句：

• The board completely disregarded my recommendations. 董事会完全无视我的建议。
• Recommendations from two previous clients helped to establish her credibility. 两位以前的客户的推荐有助于确立她的诚信度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。