a new EN pay classification,
recognising medication-endorsed ENs.
HACSU delegates said it had been the toughest agreement to work through so far. Their advice from these negotiations was "The single bargaining unit is of great benefit, if you can get it". HACSU delegate, Bridget Walker, said, despite the difficulty of negotiations, her experience had been that "It was really worthwhile getting involved". "As a HACSU nurse representative you get a great sense of achievement from being involved with these sorts of negotiations," Bridget said.
Another HACSU representative, Lavinia Pike, said "If you have a chance to get involved, get in there and have a go. It's really pretty good fun. We achieved a positive outcome for all nurses at our workplace." As well, the ratio of 25% of all nursing positions at Level 2 will be maintained for the period of this agreement, subject to availability.
There are also some important redundancy provisions, with an obligation on the employer to consult and seek to redeploy and retrain wherever possible. A casual employee can't be engaged on an established roster for a period in excess of six weeks at any one time, unless strict circumstances apply.
Members should also be familiar with the provisions for accessing flexible hours through the banking of hours within the agreement. Post-graduate allowances will continue to apply at various levels according to qualification.
A level 1 or level 2 nurse or enrolled nurse who acts as a preceptor will receive a payment of $2.00 per hour whilst acting in this role subject to the following.
There is also a range of built-in safeguards for members in the provision of salary sacrifice arrangements.
For a copy of the full agreement, please contact your HACSU nurse delegate or HACSU worksite committee member.
