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Winter 2005

Taste of things to come

The takeover of the former Salvos nursing home, Tyler Village, by a new company owned by the Macquarie Bank has all the hallmarks of a “brave new world of aged care” matched with the harsh world of Howard’s new IR system.

With its "aged care for profit" motivation, contracted out management style, tactics of fear and intimidation, and tear-up workers rights approach, the only thing that stays the same is that workers, if they are united and organised, can overcome all of this.

When the Salvos sold their 14 nursing homes nationally - 2 of which are in Tasmania - to Retirement Care Australia (RCA), RCA contracted out the management of the homes to Tricare, one of Queenslands largest providers of aged care.

Although there were no guarantees of ongoing employment, the initial assurances from the company seemed okay. Tricare said employees would be offered the same terms and conditions but rosters would be reviewed based on residents' needs. They said they would sit down with staff and discuss preferred roster patterns.

However, after a short period Tricare contracted out the transitional management arrangements to CIAD, a "specialist management" company.

HACSU's approaches to CIAD then met a brick wall. No process of negotiation eventuated, and CIAD said they had no power to make any decisions.

New rosters were then posted without names, and it was made clear there were absolutely no guarantees of staff being transferred over.

"Group interviews" were conducted, which many likened to interviews by the Gestapo.

Individual contracts were handed out with clauses so broad and favourable to management it left workers with virtually no rights or entitlements.

Management said new staff might be flown in from Queensland to replace existing staff. Letters and further approaches by HACSU went unanswered and it was clear that the tactic was about sidelining the union's collective approach.

Almost every worker signed a petition requesting consultation, stating they wanted to negotiate as a collective over new staffing levels and that these negotiations should go through HACSU.

Further, workers said they wanted a guarantee existing staff would not be replaced by newly recruited staff, and that existing staff would not have to re-apply for their positions.

The "I signed the petition" badges were everywhere around the nursing home. All of the 91 of 93 staff, handed back their contracts to HACSU officials, who presented the 91 unsigned contracts back to management.

With the new management not responding and the old Salvos management wiping their hands of the matter - despite the fact that, technically, the sale had still not being finalised and they were still legally responsible- HACSU members called a meeting. Residents and their families, by now equally upset at threats to care, also came along with around 200 people filling the Tyler Village lounge to over-flowing.

With the local media tearing strips off the new owners for their behaviour, their reputation in tatters, the whole of the workforce, residents and their families united, management had no option but to back down.

Proper negotiations were finally set in train the following week between HACSU and the new management, and revised rosters were established with revised offers of employment for the workforce, which were voted up by the workforce.

It was a classic case of a fight, which upset staff, residents and their families that never needed to occur - a fight facilitated by aggressive new management tactics being promoted by John Howard's government.

As Tyler Village nurse and HACSU representative, Fanou Burslem, said "All the workers wanted from day one was a roster that ensured their ongoing employment rights and provided a level of service to residents that didn't compromise their safety and well being."

"It's a warning of the new IR laws, a taste. It was a campaign of intimidation and fear."

"As an RN I have never been treated so appallingly. They were deliberately dividing people, saying if you don't fight you might get a job. Everyone started to talk about who had what hours."

"The group interviews were a process of humiliation."

"People who went through the process were very frightened. People were saying my God, what about my mortgage?"

"In the original rosters everyone's hours were slashed. You knew service delivery would not be quality."

"The contracts were in language that was not understandable. Everyone was to be forced to undertake a medical of the company's choice. We were like lambs to the slaughter."

"We were just like commodities on the stock exchange. They didn't look at what individuals could offer. Some of these workers had been with Tyler Village for years and years."

"What was great was the actions of HACSU officials. I was very impressed. They were there with all the information and the support."

It was, in the end, a great victory for the workforce. As Paul Burford, one of the HACSU Industrial Officers involved in the dispute said, "It showed how strong workers can be."

"One of the senior managers said to me half way through the dispute 'RCA are too big. You will never win this.' But by collective action we have had a very significant win."