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Summer 2008

HACSU Delivers on Wage Increase

IN mid July 2007, HACSU met with Southern Cross Care Tasmania (SCCT) to discuss a combined Union Collective Agreement for nurses and general staff.

This agreement amalgamated the following awards and agreements into one document;

• Nursing Homes Award

• Nurses (Private Sector) Award

• Tasmanian Nurses Aged Care Agreement 2004

• Southern Cross Care (Tas) Inc Community Care Industrial Agreement 2004

• Nursing Homes Professional Staff Industrial Agreement

HACSU raised a number of concerns in regards to the draft Agreement, as award conditions appeared to have been altered or removed.

In response to SCCT draft Agreement, HACSU developed a 'reconciliation document', which ensured all current entitlements from each award and/or agreements were maintained.

Following discussions on the 'reconciliations document', the committee was able to agree 'in principle' to the majority of outstanding issues.

However, SCCT advised HACSU that they were not in a financial position to fully fund HACSU's log of claims, and only offered a 2.85 per cent wage increase per year over three years.

This outraged members as the wage offer put forward from SCCT was far below their original claim.

Consequently, after members had strongly rejected SCCT's original package, SCCT increased their wage offer to 3 per cent per annum.

However, there were still outstanding claims to be agreed upon, and members were unhappy with the insignificant increase to the wage offer.

In the lead up to 2008, members endorsed HACSU to start preparations for a State-wide campaign of Industrial Action.

The campaign aimed to send a clear message to SCCT that HACSU members will continue to fight for decent wage increases and improved conditions.

From late February to early March 2008, HACSU members participated in Industrial Action state-wide, which consisted of bans across all classifications, including;

• Wearing and placing protest posters/stickers around the worksite and in the community

• Handing letters to residents, clients and families explaining why staff were taking action

• Banning overtime, participation of accreditation activities, and documentation that is not relevant to resident care

• Refusing to clean /disinfect or make up vacant rooms

• Extended care assistants refused to undertake duties that were not recognised as extended care assistant duties

• Catering refused to provide meals for executive staff, or cater for special functions for management

• Banning on call, respite admissions, and non-nursing duties; including no fax requests, and no administration/clerical tasks

This action was a significant element of the negotiation process, as members were unified across all areas and sites.

On 19 February 2008, the day of protest was carried out below Rosary Gardens, and outside Glenara Lakes, to demonstrate to that HACSU members were not backing down.

Industrial Organiser, Tania Rogers, said the day of protest was great.

"We received widespread media coverage, and our cause was reported on every local news channel that night," Tania said.

The action taken by members that day, along with the other industrial bans, forced SCCT to return to the negotiating table.

SCCT offered an improved wage offer, with back pay from 1 March 2008, and better conditions which HACSU nurses accepted, however general staff rejected.

General staff required a further offer in terms of the proposed wages, and a specific new clause to be implemented in the Agreement.

Therefore, two separate agreements were finalised between members and SSCT, one agreement for nurses and another agreement for general staff.

A voting slip was sent to all SCCT's employees State-wide on whether to accept or reject the offer, and both agreements were accepted.

SCCT lodged the agreements into the Workplace Authority for approval; the Nurse Agreement has been approved, however HACSU is currently waiting for the General Staff Agreement to be approved.