Campaign update 3: Public sector talks resume 20 January

2020 public sector EBA campaign update 3

NERR update

The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) has now been issued by all employers except those who operate stand-alone community health centres.

Discussions continue between those stand-alone community health centres, the Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association (VHIA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), seeking the centre’s formal inclusion in any agreement negotiations and subsequent outcomes.

The NERR indicates the formal commencement of bargaining for a new enterprise agreement.

Single interest employer update

Once all the NERRs have been issued, the employers can seek approval to be covered by a single enterprise agreement, as is the case currently despite the agreement applying to around
100 separate employers.

Negotiations

Regular discussions and negotiations continued until late last year between the ANMF, the VHIA and the DHHS.

Talks focused on non-wage related claims. (Wage rises for 2020- 2024 were agreed in the previous EBA negotiations.)

These discussions involved ANMF describing the purpose for each of the amendments that we are seeking on behalf of our members.  Most recent discussions focused on:

1. Improving reporting and management of occupational violence
   and aggression.
2. When an employee can access long service leave and what
   periods of employment should count as service.
3. The circumstances in which employees have access to the sixth
   week of annual leave.
4. Improving the descriptors for the Clinical Nurse Consultant
   and other classifications.
5. Enhancing the operation of the Statewide Classification
   Committee, in particular for advanced practice roles.
6. On-call, recall, overtime and related issues.

Weekly meetings will resume on 20 January 2020.

The claim

Members can read the ANMF public sector nurses and midwives general claim at anmfvic.asn.au/2020claim (pdf 2.2MB)

Note some of these claims will have been revised as a consequence of discussions to date.

The claim comprises a series of amendments to the current agreement. The amendments we are seeking address many non-wage issues, including annual leave, long service leave, on-call,
overtime, gender equity, flexible work and more.

Nurses employed in public mental health services are covered by a different agreement which will be negotiated later.

Member surveys

An important aspect of the claim is to address any ambiguity in how employers interpret the current EBA. To do this, ANMF will need your help from time to time.

ANMF is seeking feedback in short surveys sent to members via text message. If you work in the public sector (excluding public mental health services) and have not been receiving these texts, update your details via the member portal anmfvic.asn.au/memberportal

Our latest survey is for part-time employees which will assist with our annual leave claims. If you haven’t completed this one-minute survey please check your text messages and fill in the questions.

Claim from employers

The VHIA, on behalf of the employers, presented its claims to ANMF in late December 2019. VHIA is expected to explain these claims in more detail in meetings throughout January and February.