At the Statewide Meeting of ANMF Mental Health Members today (Wednesday 4 December), ANMF members voted to endorse an application for a protected industrial action ballot in the event the Allan Government do not provide an appropriate offer of settlement for the 2025-2029 Mental Health EBA.
ANMF members met online and in person at the ANMF Melbourne office and heard a report from ANMF officials on the progress of negotiations so far, including that – since first meeting on 31 July – ANMF, the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU), the Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association (VHIA), the Department of Health and facilitator Michelle Bissett have met more than 25 times. ANMF has also met separately with HACSU to progress shared interest claims, and individually with facilitator Michelle Bissett.
Members welcomed the support of many non-cost items to date, however expressed disappointment at the many cost items and key claims not supported, including wage parity with other public sector nurses.
Next steps
Through a resolution that passed at the meeting, members directed ANMF to continue to hold further negotiations on the unresolved aspects of the claim, with a particular emphasis on wages and allowances. However, if an appropriate offer is not received by the expiry of the current agreement, members instructed ANMF to make an application to the Fair Work Commission for a protected industrial action ballot order.
If required, ANMF (Vic Branch) will hold a further statewide meeting, as soon as practicable following the declaration of the protected industrial action ballot, and provide detailed information about the protected industrial action ballot process, and what that means, in coming weeks.
The meeting resolution is attached to the end of this Campaign Update and can be accessed at anmfvic.asn.au/mhresolution.
Status of ANMF members’ claims
ANMF (Vic Branch) continues to work to progress the log of claims on behalf of members. Progress is being made through the twice-weekly negotiations and agreement has been reached on many claims, however there are some key claims that are not agreed. These include those claims relating to community mental health team workload tools, discipline mix, and staffing profiles. Additionally, VHIA has also not agreed to wage parity with the general nursing outcome.
The progress of the ANMF mental health members’ claims are listed in the expanded progress update, a PDF can be accessed via anmfvic.asn.au/MHprogressupdate.
Members are encouraged to read through the material, which has been categorised into supported claims; claims still for discussion; and claims currently not agreed. ANMF will continue to focus on the claims specific to mental health nursing, and work with Job Reps to productively progress discussions towards an outcome that we can recommend to members.
Read the ANMF members’ log of claims via anmfvic.asn.au/mhclaim.
Update your details
To be eligible to vote in a protected industrial action ballot in the future, ANMF members’ details must be up to date and match with their details on the employer-provided list. Members need to check their surname, first name, middle name, date of birth, work and private email, mobile and postal address.
Members whose workplace and contact details don’t match won’t be eligible to vote, which may limit everyone’s ability to participate in a campaign.
To update your details, visit the member portal via members.anmfvic.asn.au.
Become a Job Rep
Job Reps are an important communication link between ANMF and its members in the workplace. During a campaign, Job Reps work with their Organiser to help distribute information, promote members meetings and encourage participation.
Members can find their Job Reps on their ANMF (Vic Branch) member portal page via members.anmfvic.asn.au.
If you don’t have at least two, consider nominating yourself.
To find out more about the Job Rep role and how to nominate visit anmfvic.asn.au/jobrep.
Follow ANMF on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
Members are encouraged to follow ANMF on our social media channels via @anmfvic.
