On Monday 26 February, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) will hear an application for a ‘single interest’ authorisation. This is important as the new Victorian public sector nurses and midwives enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) will apply to 105 separate legal employer entities, and without being authorised by FWC, we would have to negotiate with each individual employer, and seek, effectively 105 new EBAs.
These entities comprise:
- 76 public health services
- 2 early parenting centres
- 24 stand-alone community health services
- 4 stand-alone public aged care services
- 1 bush nursing centre
We will notify members of the outcome in the next update.
Negotiations continue
ANMF continues to meet with the Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association (VHIA), usually two days per week, to discuss our members’ claims, and the claims of other bargaining representatives, as we move into the last two months before the current EBA expires. The agreement expires on 30 April 2024.
This involves not only ANMF explaining the purpose of each our claims, but also responding to the claims made by VHIA on behalf of health services, which we have done in detail. Similarly, we are responding to claims made by stand-alone community health employers.
While ANMF represents the vast majority of employees covered by this EBA, a small number are members of HACSU (for example in some dual disability settings) and HWU (in respect to some enrolled nurses), both branches of the Health Services Union.
On 25 January, the VHIA responded to all our claims, all the claims of the HWU and those of HACSU. ANMF responded back to VHIA on 30 January, and HWU on 20 February. As at Thursday 22 February, HACSU is yet to provide their response.
ANMF for its part wants to see negotiations continue speedily and efficiently, and has resourced and prioritised this accordingly.
Report back statewide members meeting
We will hold our first report back meeting on Thursday 21 March from 2pm-3.30pm.
This is an opportunity for you to hear firsthand how negotiations are progressing.
This will be a paid meeting, meaning that if you attend during your working hours, you will not lose pay.
It won’t be a single-venue meeting. Instead, we will hold the meeting at the ANMF Carson Conference Centre in Melbourne, and at seven other venues across the state, with audio visual connection. This should negate the need for a significant travel time to attend. Members across the state will be required to attend one of the eight venues in order to participate in the meeting.
Venues and bus availability will be advised in the very near future once we have bedded down all the regional venues. Members will be required to register to attend and as always non-members are encouraged to join prior to the meeting if they want to participate.
Update your membership details
It will be critically important, should we need to take further steps, and to ensure that all of our public sector members can participate – that you make sure ANMF has your correct details. If there have been any changes, please update your – workplace, second public sector workplace if you have one, surname, first name, middle name, mobile and postal address – on the member portal.
If we have your correct email address but you have not been receiving EBA updates or the monthly On the Record or enews publications, then you may have unsubscribed from our communications. Please resubscribe.