Members at Aurora Healthcare – comprising Brunswick Private Hospital and South Eastern Private Hospital – will soon vote whether or not to accept their employer’s proposed new enterprise agreement.
The Aurora Healthcare Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2020 expired on 31 July 2024. ANMF (Vic Branch) held multiple members’ meetings over May and June last year to finalise members’ log of claims, and on behalf of members began preliminary bargaining meetings with Aurora Healthcare in July.
Aurora Healthcare’s initial offer included a wage increase of just six per cent over two years. It did not agree to most member claims, such as additional annual leave for part-time shift workers, redeployment allowance, staffing improvements, increased night duty allowances, and ANUMs having paid time to complete performance appraisals.
Aurora Healthcare said many of these claims were ‘not viable due to the financial impact’.
By December, ANMF bargaining had got Aurora Healthcare to 7.05 per cent, along with an increase in primary parental leave (from 10 weeks to 12) and compassionate leave (from two days to four).
Members rejected the offer.
In February this year, a member meeting resolved to endorse ANMF applying for a protected industrial action ballot order in the event that an approved offer was not received by 11 March.
On 12 March, Aurora Healthcare provided an updated offer that increased the wages uplift from 7.05 to 10.05 per cent – still leaving Aurora nurses well behind not only the public sector but also many other private acute employers.
The new offer also agreed to members’ claim for an additional week of annual leave for part-time shift workers, but little else.
Unimpressed, members resolved once again to apply for protected industrial action ballot order, which was granted by the Fair Work Commission on 25 March. Just under 95 per cent of members voted in favour of taking action.
As part of the protected industrial action ballot process, Aurora and the ANMF were required by law to attend a compulsory conference at the Commission. This conference was held on Monday 7 April before Senior Deputy President Roberts, and resulted in Aurora improving the wages offer to 12.5 per cent over three years.
While this showed positive steps in the right direction, too few other improvements were offered and members commenced protected industrial action on 29 April.
Members showed great enthusiasm for the campaign, proudly wore their red t-shirts and implementing stage 1 actions including admin and work bans. Thanks to these efforts, ANMF has been able to get the employer to an offer that includes:
- 12.5% wages increase over the three-year life of the agreement
- A sixth week of annual leave for part-time shift workers, phased in over the life of the agreement
- Paid parental leave increases from 10 weeks to 12
- compassionate leave increases from two days to four per occasion
- an improved process for annual leave approvals
- entitlement to access personal leave while on long service leave
- recognition of mixed service for the purposes of long service leave
- improved evidence requirements for accessing qualifications allowances
- introduction of three days natural disaster leave
- Definition of exam leave updated to include major assessment tasks, take-home exams and other methods of assessment.
Notwithstanding the significant gains above, ANMF and members remain disappointed that Aurora Healthcare will not agree to any staffing improvements.
Aurora Healthcare will now put the proposed agreement to a ballot of all staff, with the mandatory access period beginning this week. Voting will commence on Tuesday 10 June and conclude on Monday 16 June.
Aurora Healthcare members from Brunswick Private Hospital on their first day of protected industrial action
