From 7am tomorrow, Tuesday 28 October ANMF members will commence protected industrial action across Healthscope facilities in pursuit of a fair EBA.
These actions will continue until an agreement has been reached with Healthscope and the ANMF advises members that the action is to stop.
This action includes:
a) Distributing and wearing ANMF campaign T-shirts, badges and stickers.
b) Interrupting work to attach campaign material to clothing.
c) Stopping work for up to 10 minutes to explain to patients and visitors the purpose of the protected industrial action and handing out ‘Dear Patient’ letters about the campaign and discussing it with patients and their visitors.
d) Interrupting work for up to one hour to communicate with the media, post photos online, change backgrounds on electronic communications or write a message on social media about issues relating to enterprise bargaining (having regard to patient confidentiality and s.141 of the Health Services Act).
e) A ban on redeployment from your home ward to another ward (or campus to campus).
f) Refusing to provide information regarding who is taking protected industrial action.
g) A ban on overtime directed or requested by Healthscope.
h) A ban on working outside ordinary starting and finish times unless overtime is approved by Healthscope in writing in advance.
i) A ban on recall work for circumstances other than emergencies.
j) Taking the full period of all breaks.
k) A ban on attending or participating in management meetings unless fully backfilled.
l) Refusing to respond to any work-related emails, telephone calls or other communication from Healthscope, including during breaks, unless the communication directly relates to patient or staff safety.
m) Including the following text in all work-related emails:
Nurses and midwives at Healthscope have worked through the pandemic while under enormous pressure. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation is trying to negotiate a new enterprise agreement with management on our behalf. We are asking for reasonable improvements to our working conditions, especially as our take home pay has lagged significantly behind the public sector health services and other private acute hospital providers. We are asking for safe staffing and workload standards and for these standards to be included in our enterprise agreement.
We ask for your support and understanding as we engage in protected industrial action in support of a fair outcome. See www.anmfvic.asn.au for more information.
The protected industrial action is designed to ensure patient health, safety and welfare are not at risk. Do not take, or delay your action, if patient safety may be compromised.
HEALTHSCOPE CORRESPONDENCE WITH ANMF
Healthscope management have written to ANMF expressing concerns about the impact of the industrial action commencing tomorrow. ANMF has responded urgently to this correspondence, reassuring management that the safety of patients is paramount.
Please note that the action numbers below relate to the action numbers in the ballot.
In short, ANMF has confirmed that:
1) Members will not wear unsafe badges or lanyards in mental health units;
2) ANMF members wearing ANMF campaign materials as part of the Protected Industrial Action will do so in compliance with occupational health and safety standards;
3) Any work stoppages involving the actions where members speak to patients and families, or the media, or where they post on social media, will not occur during clinical procedures or in the event of an emergency;
4) Where the employer has ensured appropriate numbers of staff are working on a given shift, any work stoppages involving the actions where members speak to patients and families, or the media, or where they post on social media, will be undertaken in a manner that ensures safe staffing levels are maintained;
5) Any ban on recall work may only be taken in circumstances other than emergency;
6) Any ban on working overtime or outside the normal start and finish times will not occur where there is an emergency to which the member is attending or is directed to attend; and
7) The following actions will not be taken where to do so would compromise patient safety:
a) Ban on participating in management meetings unless backfilled
b) Taking the full period of all breaks
c) Ban on responding to work-related emails, phone calls or other communication from Healthscope.
d) Ban on receiving or responding to telephone calls, emails or other communications from Healthscope. In relation to Actions 8, 10, 16 and 18 will not be undertaken where to do so, would compromise patient safety.
RED T-SHIRTS AND SITE VISITS
ANMF members wearing the iconic red nurses and midwives campaign t-shirt is a powerful display of solidarity when campaigning for fairer wages, allowances and conditions and should never be underestimated.
ANMF Organisers have been distributing red t-shirts and campaign materials to each site in preparation for the start of protected industrial action. Please put your campaign t-shirt on before you go to work each day and wear it proudly until the end of your campaign.
These t-shirts are to wear at work but also the supermarket, kids’ sporting activities, school pick up – everywhere – so the community knows about your campaign. If you don’t have a t-shirt, please speak to your Job Rep or contact your ANMF Organiser. ANMF staff will be visiting facilities every day this week and next to support members with t-shirts, materials and solidarity.
Many campaign materials are available on the ANMF Healthscope campaign page: anmfvic.asn.au/healthscope-resources.
Resources include:
- How to implement protected industrial action
- A dear patient and family letter
- Nurses and midwives speak out flier (to help you write letters to the editor and call talkback radio)
- How to implement the social media work bans
- Information for senior nurses and midwives during protected industrial action
- The campaign message for your work emails.
TAKE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF YOUR ACTION
As soon as the protected industrial action starts, we encourage you to take photos and short videos of members wearing the campaign t-shirts or reading their letter to the editor so we can share these on ANMF’s social media channels and in our publications.
Please refer to the social media work ban guidance on the ANMF Healthscope campaign page. Remember to take your pics or videos holding the camera vertically as these are more useable for social media reels. Please don’t email photos or video as the quality will be reduced. Instead upload the original-sized files to our Healthscope Dropbox folder via anmfvic.asn.au/healthscopepics
WHO CAN TAKE THE PROTECTED INDUSTRIAL ACTION?
All ANMF members who are employed by Healthscope as registered nurses, enrolled nurses or midwives, regardless of whether you voted in the protected industrial action ballot, and regardless of how recently you joined the ANMF.
Any non-member who joins the ANMF will be able to take the action once they join, so please encourage your colleagues to join and get involved.
THREATS OR HARRASSMENT
It is your right under the Fair Work Act to take the forms of protected industrial action listed above.
‘Protected’ means you cannot be dismissed or disciplined for taking these actions.
ANMF will support members who are threatened, intimidated or harassed.
To report any threats, intimidation or harassment, including those relating to pay docking, please follow this link: anmfvic.asn.au/healthscopereport.
GOT A CAMPAIGN ENQUIRY?
If you need to get in touch with your ANMF Organiser please contact them via records@anmfvic.asn.au.
Dorset Rehabilitation Centre – Camilla Ablitt-Collins
Geelong Clinic – Christian Sanderson
Holmesglen Private Hospital – Stephanie Bligh
John Fawkner Hospital – Lachlan Schacht
Knox Private Hospital – Linda Elliott
La Trobe Private Hospital – Julie Wearing-Smith
Melbourne Private Hospital – Jodie Dowler (relieving Lyndal Alston)
Northpark Private Hospital – Julie Wearing-Smith
Ringwood Private Hospital – Linda Elliott
The Melbourne Clinic Private Hospital – Linda Elliott
Victoria Clinic Private Hospital – Narelle Hayes
Victorian Rehabilitation Centre – Jenna Bell
