Their employer, who did not wish to be identified, would definitely increase their wages if it could, the pair said yesterday.
Keenly aware of the wider context of the sector's low pay rates, they hope Kristine Bartlett's discrimination claim effects change.
Miss Sanderson (42), a solo mother of two, is paid $14.84 an hour after seven years in the sector. She did not have a caregiver qualification.
Caregiving in a residential facility involved assisting with medical emergency transfers, diabetes management, blood pressure checks, wound care and giving medication. Residents' needs were rising because they were kept at home longer and this was not being recognised, she believed.
The Living Wage movement will see workers at the Warehouse Group eventually paid more than Miss Sanderson and Mrs Wilson, once the retailer phases it in.
The pair joked they should apply for jobs at the retailer, but they would miss the residents and the work they did.
Asked if they felt exploited, the women agreed this was too strong a word, but said they felt undervalued.
Service and Food Workers Union Dunedin organiser Ann Galloway organised the interview with the women, after another caregiver cancelled because she was called into work on a day off. This was symptomatic of the increasingly casual nature of the work, Mrs Galloway said.
