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Autumn 2003

Dental Members Win

HACSU members working in the State-wide Oral Health Service have won an important victory for delivery of oral health services to Tasmanians and members’ own professional standards.

Following a lengthy and hard-fought campaign last year HACSU members have won funding for a significant increase in additional Dental Assistants.

HACSU Assistant State Secretary, Tim Jacobson, congratulated all members for the stand they took
.

"Members have done a very good thing for Tasmanian's health, and made sure their professional standards and conditions were not undermined," Tim said.

"Members were well organised through their Worksite Committee, had very strong arguments and showed a lot of tenacity."

"The Department of Health and Human Services had stated for some time that there was no argument to increase the ratio of Dental assistants to Dental Therapists, and the Government tried to stonewall on this point."

"But HACSU members demonstrated that it had been World Best Practice to employ Therapists and Assistants on a 1:1 basis for many years."

"For some reason the Government couldn't find its way to agree with this principle, even though "Best Practice" has been the central bargaining chip for them in other negotiations."

Most members would be aware of "Best Practice" as it is often a term the Department use to cut staffing or rationalise services.

It appeared that in this case, the boot was on the other foot.

After a prolonged period of getting nowhere, early this year members voted to take industrial action.

Shortly after this resolution was endorsed, the Minister for Health and Human Services provided HACSU with a paper outlining a process, which will see an additional 18.9 Full time equivalent Dental Assistant positions permanently funded across the State, with the vast majority of these positions to be funded within the next financial year.

HACSU members, whilst needing to work through some of the detail, accepted the position put by the Government and voted to accept the proposal.

"The outcome is a tribute to all those Delegates, Worksite Committee members and members who got behind the dispute," Tim Jacobson said.

"I have no doubt that without the threat of industrial action from members this issue would not have got off the ground."

"It's another example that it is the members who are the union. If they choose to do something collectively and stick at it, we have a lot of influence."

The Worksite Committee, established in the South during the dispute, has already begun work on some further issues requiring resolution.