Win: Bolton Clarke members’ action secures a much-improved offer

In an incredible display of the power of solidarity, ANMF’s Bolton Clarke members taking protected industrial action stood together and stood firm for 64 days until their employer made an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) offer worthy of members’ consideration: in early October that offer was accepted by Bolton Clarke employees, with 80 per cent of staff voting and 85 per cent of those voting yes!

After months of negotiations and weeks of members’ protected industrial action, Bolton Clarke had previously put a sub-standard and unfair EBA offer to a vote of all employees without ANMF support. But ANMF members and their colleagues resoundingly voted that offer down, forcing Bolton Clarke back to the bargaining table with ANMF – where they finally made an offer that the Branch could recommend.

What have members won?

The new EBA – which is now at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and will become operational seven days after its approval – will provide significant rises in wages and conditions above Bolton Clarke’s original zero per cent, then two per cent, then three per cent offers.

Nurses and carers will now receive at least a 12 per cent or 14 per cent wage rise over three years. However, depending on their classification and their current, expired EBA, many are expected to receive a higher wage percentage. Additionally, members have won major increases to shift allowances (about 25 per cent higher) and on-call allowances (double).

Overall, the new EBA will contain starting rates of pay, wage increases and allowances which are at, or exceed, industry standards.

Importantly, Bolton Clarke has also committed to pass on the Stage 3 Aged Care Work Value wage increases in full.

The wage increases in detail

The improvement in the wages offer is significant, with all carers and nurses to receive at least an additional 4 per cent per annum across the agreement – totalling at least 12 per cent for all, and 14 per cent for some nurses. This compares to the total 8 per cent in the rejected offer.

The wage increase breakdown:

• At least 5 per cent increase for all nurses and carers from the date of a positive vote, with
  • RN Level 1 Yr 7 and RN Advanced receiving 5.5 per cent
  • RN Level 1 Year 8 receiving 5.75 per cent, and
  • Levels 2 Year 3 and Level3B Year 2 and above receiving 7 per cent
• 5 per cent for all from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025
• 5 per cent for all from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026

However, many carers and nurses receive a far higher amount, depending on their current expired EBA rate (see explanation below) and whether they have access to higher classifications (e.g. the Level 3 Cert III Senior or the Level 4A for PCWs, the Advanced EN or RN Advanced).

Allowances

The unfair allowances in the rejected offer were a major reason why ANMF urged members to vote no to that offer at ballot. The new, much-improved allowances are listed below, alongside the previous offer for comparison.

Night shift

• Previously: $49.79 per shift for PCWs and $57.60 per shift for nurses
• Now: $61.90 per shift for PCWs and $70.00 per shift for nurses

PM shift

• Previously: $24.90 per shift for PCWs and $28.79 per shift for nurses
• Now: $30.95 per shift for PCWs and $35.00 per shift for nurses

On-call (per 12-hour period)

• Previously: $31.01 Mon-Friday, $40.00 on weekends and public holidays
• Now: a flat $72 per 12-hour period

The shift allowances are paid in full regardless of the length of the shift. All allowances will be indexed by the wage increases and there is a commitment that the Stage 3 aged care work value increases will be applied to shift and on-call allowances (subject to funding).

Aged care work value wage increases

Bolton Clarke has also committed at clause 5.1 of the proposed agreement to pass on the Stage 3 aged care work value wage increases in full. These increases are in addition to the increases prescribed in the agreement and in chronological order.

The Stage 3 increases for PCWs will flow on 1 January 2025 and 1 October 2025.

For nurses, the amounts and operative dates are currently being determined in the Fair Work Commission. ANMF will update members as soon as we have any news.

What does this all mean?

The in-principle EBA now contains starting rates of pay, wage increases and allowances which are at, or exceed, industry standards. Importantly, with the application of the aged care work value uplifts, rates of pay will rise to achieve public sector comparability by the end of 2027 (subject to the first wage increase of the next Bolton Clarke agreement being 3 per cent or above).

Key features of the new EBA include:

1. Access to Cert III Senior (Level 3) for PCWs immediately on commencement of the EBA.
2. A new Advanced EN classification in Home and Community Support ($36.66 above PP5). Applications can be made at any time and there is no cap on numbers provided an EN meets the criteria: either an Advanced Diploma or can meet the advanced competencies in the descriptor.
3. Industry-leading long service leave entitlement providing access to long service leave at seven years (as well as payment on termination or death at seven years) and recognition of service during periods of unpaid parental leave. The long service leave is at our standard rate of 1.7333 weeks per year of service (26 weeks after 15 years).
4. Paid parental leave of 10 weeks for the primary carer and one week for partner leave.
5. Personal leave of up to 16 days per annum (10, 12,12, 12, 16 thereafter) plus access to the personal illness pool of 10,000 hours per annum. Three single days no certificate. Chronic illness provision included that allows for those with chronic illnesses to lodge a statement from their treater and thus avoid having to provide evidence each time there is a flare-up of that condition. RDNS entitlement to 19 days per annum grandfathered for RDNS and McKenzie employees.
6. Five weeks base annual leave for nurses and four for PCWs with an additional week for those who work on 10 weekends or more and outside the hours of a day worker (RDNS CCAs retain their current entitlement to a base five weeks’ annual leave).
7. 150 per cent on Saturday and 175 per cent on Sunday plus applicable shift allowances.
8. Shift allowances, Higher Duties allowance, Motor Vehicle Allowance (note commitment to use best endeavours to provide a pool care where personal car is off the road) and grandfathering of higher $1.11 per km for 35 RDNS staff (compared to 99 cents per km for all others), clothing and equipment, on-call allowance, overtime meal allowance, broken shift allowance, nauseous allowances.
9. RN, EN and allied health qualifications allowances included. PhD added at 8.5 per cent.
10. 15 days paid family and domestic violence leave on the same terms as the NES.
11. Three days paid professional development leave (pro rata part-time, but five days grandfathered for RDNS-covered employees), plus three days paid examination leave for RNs and AHPs as well as ENs and PCWs undertaking nursing studies.
12. Public holidays will be paid at 250 per cent for permanent full-time and part-time, 312.5 per cent for casuals. Public Holiday rostered-off provision is the standard aged care provision (RDNS-covered employees to receive $700 per year compensation for loss of more beneficial clause, but also have access to the new Agreement entitlement).
13. Accident make-up pay up to 39 weeks included (not previously available for RSL-covered employees). Improved for all employees in that the make-up pay is the difference between weekly compensation payments and regular pay (including shift, weekend penalties and regular overtime) rather than ordinary pay.

Bolton Clarke’s current expired EBAs

As mentioned above, many carers and nurses will receive far higher wage increases depending on their current expired EBA rate. This is because of the complex EBA history of Bolton Clarke, a Queensland-based company that formed out of the amalgamation of RSL Care and the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS). More recently, it bought 22 Allity and McKenzie residential aged care facilities.

ANMF’s bargaining for a new enterprise agreement in Victoria aimed to bring together into one EBA the expired agreements for all the above services:

• Royal District Nursing Service EBA, covering about 500 long-term members in the At Home Services side of Bolton Clarke
• The RSL Care Limited EBA – a Queensland agreement forced on about 1300 employees in At Home Services
• The Bolton Clarke Allity EBA, covering about 2700 employees in the residential care side of the business – the 16 facilities acquired from Allity and six facilities from McKenzie.

Consolidating the three agreements proved challenging, given that the expired RDNS and Allity EBAs had superior conditions to the expired RSL Care EBA, which was based on the relevant modern Awards.

ANMF’s success in getting a single, far superior EBA offer for Bolton Clarke staff is the result of the hard work of our Job Reps and members standing together to undertake stage one and stage two protected industrial action and recruiting new members to join them in the fight for better wages and conditions.

ANMF congratulates all Bolton Clarke members for their efforts and their significant win.

Enrolled nurses pay point progression

In addition to the wage rises from the new EBA, around 55 enrolled nurses working under Bolton Clarke’s RDNS EBA in 2017 should see even more of an increase in the coming months after it became clear during negotiations that these ENs missed their scheduled pay point progression from EN 2.6 to EN 2.7.

Bolton Clarke had advised ANMF that backpay for the affected nurses will be paid in the week of 21 October 2024. ANMF encourages all enrolled nurses with five routes of medication administration qualifications and working under the RDNS EBA in 2017 to review their pay point progression over this time.

Initial enquiries should be made to your Bolton Clarke manager. If the response from your Operations Manager and/or People and Culture is not adequate, please contact ANMF by completing the MAT enquiry form at anmfvic.asn.au/memberassistance.