EBA 2024 Update – Volume 8

Welcome to the eighth edition of a bulletin that aims to keep Western Health’s nurses and midwives informed and up to date on the bargaining negotiations for the successor enterprise agreements to both the:

• Nurses and Midwives (Victorian Public Sector)(Single Interest Employers) Enterprise Agreement 2020-2024
• Victorian Public Mental Health Services Enterprise Agreement 2020-2024

which collectively cover all nurses and midwives employed at Western Health.

Introduction

This update provides information regarding the progress of the bargaining processes for the new Enterprise Agreements (EA) which will take effect over 2024.

The enterprise agreement for nurses and midwives working in public health services across Victoria expires on 30 April 2024, so these negotiations are underway.

Nurses working in mental health services are covered by a separate enterprise agreement which expires in December 2024. Negotiations for this agreement will commence later this year.

Background

On 19 March the State Government provided an offer to the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation (ANMF) in response to their claims and wages proposal for the next Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).

The offer included a 4-year agreement, a 3% per annum wage increase, a pro rata $1,525 per EFT lump sum payment and agreement to a number of no-cost items to be included in the Agreement.
At an ANMF members meeting held on 21 March, a resolution was agreed to:

• reject the offer,
• make an application for a protected industrial action ballot order in the Fair Work Commission.

The Fair Work Commission has subsequently approved the application for a protected industrial action ballot to be undertaken.

Protected Industrial Action Ballot

The Ballot is being administered by an external company Vero and went live for all ANMF members on 17 April. The Ballot is being conducted electronically and will close on 29 April at 5pm. Western Health has ensured that all messages from Vero get through our firewall and do not go to ‘junk email’.

If you are an ANMF member and work at more than one health service, you will have received a ballot vote at each health service. If you are not an ANMF member, you will not have received a ballot vote.

ANMF will announce the outcome of the ballot to their members at an unpaid meeting on 30 April 2024. This means that you can only attend if you are not rostered to work at the time of the meeting, and this is not paid time. If you are rostered to work at the time of the meeting and wish to attend, you will need to negotiate a roster change with your manager. Your manager will facilitate the roster change if they are able to do so without compromising staffing levels and skill-mix. If your manager if able to facilitate the roster change, this does not constitute a Change of Roster allowance.

It is anticipated that the Ballot result and any subsequent Protected Industrial Action will be communicated more broadly following this meeting.

Protected Industrial Action can only occur once the current EBA expires from 1 May 2024. Until this time, industrial action including the wearing of campaign t-shirts and posting of campaign material should not occur.

We recognise that not all of our nurses and midwives are members of the ANMF, and there may be varying opinions about elements of the proposed industrial action. Please be respectful of colleagues’ views and choices.

Federal Nurses Award application

A separate and unrelated application has been made by the ANMF Federal Branch to the Fair Work Commission for an increase in the Nurses Award rates of pay for nurses and midwives across the country.

The Application seeks to vary the Nurses Award and has been made following the recent Aged Care Work value case, which saw the wages of nurses and other workers working in the residential aged care sector increase.

The rate of pay in the Nurses Award have traditionally been irrelevant to nurses and midwives working in the Victorian Public Health Sector, as the EBA rates of pay have always been higher. However, if the Fair Work Commission supports this application this may change – as the base pay rate in an EBA can’t be less than the base pay rate in the award.

As this application is not related to the EBA negotiations, both will progress independently with separate timelines.

Keeping informed

Western Health will continue to provide regular updates on the outcomes of the bargaining process and how the new enterprise agreements for 2024-2028 are progressing.

Unions will also provide information to their members through regular publications, notices and report-back meetings.

Any queries or concerns can be discussed confidentially with the relevant Divisional Director of Nursing & Midwifery, Deputy Executive Director of Nursing & Midwifery or People & Culture Business Partner.