Campaign update #28
Ballot commences 7am Wednesday 19 March
Ballot ends 5pm Monday 24 March
As per the resolution of the all members’ meeting on Tuesday 25 February, where it was agreed that the proposed Enterprise Agreement should go to a ballot, all staff will now have a chance to consider and vote on the proposed Agreement.
Access period: from 5pm Tuesday 11 March until 7am Wednesday 19 March.
Ballot: opens 7am Wednesday 19 March and ends 5pm Monday 24 March
The access period is when you can read and ask questions about the proposed Agreement.
The ANMF recommends that you look at the material provided by the employer that explains the proposed Agreement. We have also provided a summary. In addition, we have summarised the Epworth offer to date (noting that negotiations are still underway).
We have scheduled a members’ meeting on Teams at 2.30pm Monday 17 March to go through any questions you may have. The link will be sent to members later this week.
The proposed Agreement expires on 30 June 2027 and there is no 2027 wage increase included. Negotiations for a new agreement will start in January 2027.
By July 2026, the St Vincent’s Private rates of pay will be at or above the November 2026 public sector rates of pay. By July 2026 St Vincent’s Private rates will be about 1% above Epworth rates for RNs and marginally behind Epworth rates for ENs.
In respect to the proposed Enterprise Agreement, ANMF asks all members to note the following:
- We are not recommending either a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote. However, apart from the staffing provisions and the allowances, we regard the offer as reasonable.
- We assess the wages (parity to public sector to end of 2026) and leave offer as largely meeting our claims and comparing well with the Epworth offer. As a reminder, the leave offer includes:
- extra week of annual leave for part-time shift workers from 1/6/27
- increase from 3 to 5 uncertificated days of personal leave per year
- increase from 10 to 20 days of FDV leave
- recognition of 12 months unpaid parental leave per occasion as service counting towards LSL
- The allowances offer for on-call, night duty and qualifications are behind the public sector and considerably behind Epworth (especially in relation to on-call and qualifications).
- The staffing provisions (see Appendix A) are a positive step forward, particularly with respect to supernumerary in-charge. Epworth is not currently offering anything similar. However, as clearly stated to members in our meeting on 25 February, these provisions do not go far enough and do not represent a prescriptive mechanism for safe staffing and workload relief that we were seeking.
The 19 additional shifts from 1/7/25 in 5 key priority areas and the 12 additional shifts from 1/2/27 will go some way to addressing workload and nurses/midwives with a patient load on night shift. However, we will need to pursue staffing claims again in early 2027 to get more comprehensive safe staffing provisions into the Agreement and remove any remaining in-charge roles with a patient load.
The Nursing and Midwifery Consultative Committee is a clearly defined body with equal representation. It is a positive step forward and will test the bona fides of St Vincent’s Private in dealing with workload management and staffing concerns (see clause 65 and Appendix A(n)) - There have been other small wins such as new EN Advanced criteria that will enable more ENs to access EN level 3 and theatre Floor Coordinator paid at Grade 4B.
ANMF officials and Job Reps have formed the view that if it were not for the lack of a more comprehensive staffing clause, we would have likely recommended a Yes vote.
We therefore urge you to consider how this agreement affects you and your colleagues and to freely exercise your right to vote.
If there is a majority Yes vote, then the agreement will be lodged with the Fair Work Commission for approval. That process lasts about 4-6 weeks so the agreement would be approved about the start of May.
If there is a majority No vote, then the proposed agreement lapses and we would go back to the bargaining table. There is no guarantee all items would remain in the package. However, as with the rejected agreement in late October 2024, it is unlikely there would be any significant change to the offer (especially given the items in the Epworth offer). However, there is also no guarantee St Vincent’s Private would enhance the offer significantly either. We would all need to consider escalating PIA again as part of that process and any resolution would be delayed several months.
Again, you need to vote according to your careful assessment of the proposed agreement on balance of all these matters. The ANMF will continue to back the decision and will of members.
GOT A CAMPAIGN ISSUE OR INQUIRY
If you need to get in touch with your ANMF Organiser Mitch Hoover (all St Vincent’s Private sites) please contact him via records@anmfvic.asn.au stating your name and hospital.
For urgent matters, call Mitch Hoover – see the emailed version of this campaign update.
