Health and Community Services Union

HACSU Commences Action in the Federal Court

On Tuesday 5 January HACSU’s lawyers Slater & Gordon lodged a wage recovery case in the Federal Court on behalf of members against Ballarat Health Service.

The case seeks to recover the shift allowances not paid to HACSU members who are in receipt of the 'commuted allowance' (former Section 97 employees).

The court action follows the ongoing refusal of Ballarat and other health services to pay members the additional shift allowances when they work afternoon or night shifts on weekend days and public holidays.

The court action is a member’s only claim and a directions hearing for the Ballarat case has been listed for the 8th February 2010.

Given the evidence gathering complexities of the case it was determined to commence the action against Ballarat Health Services.

HACSU is now preparing separate action against other health services that are not paying the allowance.

Authorised by Lloyd Williams, State Secretary

DHS Disability Members are finally receiving a ‘Notice of Representation’ today from the Department of Human Services.

HACSU wrote to members in early November explaining that you do not need to do anything with this notice. It is a technical requirement of the new act in order to register our 2008 EBA. Unfortunately some confusion has arisen due to a delay in the Department sending out the notice.

The Health and Community Services Union has said today that the incident at Thomas Embling Hospital last night, which has lead to the fatal stabbing of two clients and the serious injury of another, highlights the inadequacies of the State Government’s workforce strategy in the Mental Health Sector.

The Victorian Government wants to introduce a Portable Long Service Leave Scheme. However Community Sector Organisations are opposed to it. A Portable Long Service Leave Scheme is crucial if we are to begin to address the overwhelming recruitment and retention issues in the Non-Government Sector.

Please fill out the form below to send an email in support of the proposed scheme.

A pay increase of 5.25% will flow to HACSU’s Health Professional Members in their next pay after agreement was finally met between Employers and the Union.

The payrise is backdated to 21 November 2008 and members will receive this backpay shortly.

These payrises add to the conditions already won for Health Professionals working in Mental Health including additional study leave, CATT oncall and improvements in case management and staffing levels.

For more information contact HACSU Member Services Team on 1300 651 931.

Specific Strategic Replacement & Refurbishment Program (SRRP) meetings between the DHS and HACSU delegate Carmel Palumbo and Official Lisa White have been held throughout the past year. The Union intends for the SRRP to become a standing agenda item at the monthly Regional Consultative Committee meeting. Until this occurs the local meetings will continue.

On Tue 28th July, about 100 HACSU delegates met at Trades Hall in Melbourne to discuss various matters arising out of the DHS Disability EBA. In particular, delegates came together to discuss the finger scanning log on process that DHS are proposing as a replacement to paper timesheets.

Delegates heard from DHS representatives’ which was followed by a lively discussion. Some concerns were alleviated while other concerns were raised. One thing is for certain though: members are very sceptical of the system.

The meeting passed a resolution stating that HACSU opposes the use of a biometric logging system. The resolution also stated that we will establish a reference group of delegates to consult with the DHS on this matter and undertake further discussions.

This process and information has been poorly managed by the Department. There has been a lot of misinformation caused by a lack of consultation which has only lead to more confusion and anxiety. By passing this resolution members have committed to getting actively involved in this process to ensure that the Department remain accountable and that the concerns of members are heard.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to come down to the meeting – especially those that came from outside the metropolitan area.

We will keep you up to date as the issue processes.

Victorian Trades Hall Council is running a series of initial 5-day Occupational Health and Safety Training in Regional Victoria.