GOOD NEWS: PAY DEAL REACHED FOR ST VINCENT’S PRIVATE HWU MEMBERS

After extensive negotiations, the Health Workers Union and your employer have reached an in-principle pay deal for St Vincent’s employees. Your new Agreement will be from 7 days from the approval of the Agreement by the Fair Work Commission, until 30 June 2024.

This new Agreement includes an increase to wages as follows:

A 3% pay increase on the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2023; and a further 3% pay increase on the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2024.

Other benefits of your new Agreement include:

Paid Parental Leave

Paid Parental leave increased from 10 weeks over the life of the Agreement as follows:

Leave that commences after:               Period of paid leave

Commencement of the Agreement      11 weeks

1 January 2023                                     12 weeks

1 January 2024                                     13 weeks

30 June 2024                                        14 weeks

The Agreement also increases paid secondary carers leave from 1 week to 2 weeks from the commencement of the Agreement.

Buddy Allowance

A new buddy allowance is payable where an employee is allocated by the Manager to buddy with a new employee for the purposes of orientation. The Buddy allowance shall be in accordance with Appendix 1 per shift ($16 from commencement of the Agreement), up to a maximum of two shifts per new employee.

Special Disaster Leave

A new Special disaster leave of up to 3 days per calendar year is payable where:

(a)        the Employee is a full time or part time employee;

(b)        Personal / carer’s leave is not available either because the Employee has exhausted the accrual or the circumstance does not qualify for Personal / carer’s leave; and

(c)        the Employee is unable to attend work due to a disaster (such as fire or flood) where:

i.          the Employee's residence is damaged or under imminent threat of major damage;

ii.          the lives or safety of their immediate family or household members are threatened; or

iii.         there is a formal closure, flooding or other unusual danger of the use of a road(s) which is the Employee's normal travel route to work and no alternative practicable travel route is available.

Long Service Leave

Improved Long Service Leave transitioning of eligibility to take long service leave as follows:

i.          from 1 January 2023, nine (9) years; or

ii.          from 1 January 2024, eight (8) years; or

iii.         from 30 June 2024, seven (7) years.

Minimum engagement

A new clause providing for a minimum engagement of 4 hour.

Dispute Resolution Procedure

Amended the Dispute Resolution Procedure to include specific reference to sections 65 and 76 of the Fair Work Act in accordance with the HWU claim.

Consultation Clause

Amended the Consultation clause to include additional reference to HWU.

Voting for the New Agreement

You employer will send you information about how to vote for the new Agreement. If you have any questions about the process for voting, please speak to your employer in the first instance.

For your new Agreement to become law (and for you to receive your pay rise and benefits of the Agreement), the Agreement needs to be supported by the majority of affected employees. Once this happens, the Fair Work Commission can proceed to approve the Agreement.

The HWU strongly recommends you vote YES in support of this Agreement. If you have any questions, please call the HWU on (03) 9341 3300.