The ASU and your delegates would like to thank all members for your patience during the current EBA negotiations.
EBA negotiations can be quite a long process. This is to ensure that we have the opportunity to maximise the benefits to members. It is also crucial to make sure that the document is drafted correctly and that the new provisions/clauses can’t be misinterpreted or applied differently to the way they were intended.
In the case of National Hearing Care there are many clauses and new entitlements that we have written into your agreement. Your new EBA will be about 45 pages long with many clauses and subclauses that required detailed drafting and scrutiny.
Almost there!
The ASU is happy to report that we are at the very final stages of negotiations. The wording of the EBA is virtually finished and we expect it to be finalised by the end of this week.
The ASU believes that we have delivered significant improvements to wages and conditions during these negotiations and we are sure that people will be happy with the outcome when we have the opportunity to present it to you at ASU members meetings.
What’s in the new Agreement?
Here is an overview of what we have achieved for you during these negotiations;
- Excellent consultation and Dispute Settlement Procedures
- Proper stand down provisions
- Better rostering arrangements including the ability to shift swap with each other, a review of the rostering practice to get rosters further in advance
- Double time payment for work on public holidays or a paid day off, or a day in lieu
- Higher than award wage rates with future guaranteed pay rises
- Penalty loadings
- Overtime rates and provisions
- Casual loadings
- Allowances
- Paid annual leave
- Paid sick leave
- Paid compassionate leave
- Family and domestic violence leave provisions
- Community services leave
- Paid long service leave
- Provisions to stop the employer making deductions or from your wages in the event of an overpayment without reaching agreement first
- Paid training for your union delegates so that they can better represent you in the workplace.
- Redundancy provisions as well as processes to mitigate redundancies and fair selection procedures.
- Classification structure that outlines skills and what each job is paid at.
- Higher duties provisions that ensure you are paid the higher rate if you’re asked to step up to another role (even for a short period)
- Protection from contract labour and the over use of casuals to do your work.
- Paid rest breaks enshrined in the agreement
- Guaranteed pay increase for all employees even if you’re paid higher than the minimum EBA rates
- The ability to stat decs instead of medical certificates for absences
- All personal leave can also be used as carers leave
- The ability to cash out a portion of your leave
Where to next?
As soon as the final draft is completed the ASU will attend National Hearing Care and hold members meetings to discuss the new EBA and ensure that you are happy with it. National Hearing Care may also want to have meetings separately to present their view to you as well.
Once these meetings have concluded and subject to ASU members endorsing the Agreement then the EBA will go out to a formal ballot vote of employees, this is required under Federal Legislation.
If the EBA is supported then it will be lodged in the Fair Work Commission for approval. It will become a legally binding and enforceable document once approved. It is at this point all of the new conditions would apply to you.
Thank you.
We would also like to take the opportunity to thank those people that have joined the Union. It is only through a large number of people joining and getting involved that we have had the ability to negotiate and achieve what we have to date.
Without people joining the union you would have remained on an expired WorkChoices Agreement with inferior terms and conditions of employment to those proposed in the new agreement.
Don’t delay!
The ASU, your Delegates and the members of the Union have put significant time, resources and effort into improving your working conditions. This was only possible through people joining the Union at National Hearing Care.
If you’re not a member of the Union then you are really saying that you expect someone else to pay for you to receive the additional benefits achieved.
Don’t delay, support those that have supported you by joining the Union that delivers outcomes for its members. You can join online at www.asuvic.org