Health and Community Services Union

Since the Non-Government EBA campaign got started earlier in the year, there has been a seemingly endless flow of site visits by our organisers and there are still plenty more to come. However, there have been some major developments recently which we though you should be updated on.

2009-2012 Services Funding Increase: Must be passed on
After months of negotiations between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and health, housing and community services (represented by VCOSS), the State Government announced that it will provide NGO service providers with a 3.14% funding increase per annum until 2012. This includes funding for wage increases.

HACSU members will need to campaign hard for this funding increase to be passed on as wage increases, it won’t happen automatically. It is not enough to fund the uplift and the other gains we need to secure fair employment standards so our campaign will need continue to secure improvements on that front.

From here on, our campaign will need to focus on two stages. Firstly, we need to secure increases that hold the base and stop us slipping further behind. To do this we will have to secure a commitment that employers will pass on the recent 3.14% funding increase into wages.

This will need to be followed by a strong campaign to convince the employers and government to invest in the NGO workforce and reward staff with an uplift to wages that properly reflects the work and value of NGO disability support staff.

Portability of Long Service Leave (PLSL)
HACSU has long argued that a Portable Long Service Leave (PLSL) Scheme is a critical component of any strategy to improve employee retention rates in the Non Government Disability (NGO) Disability Sector and along with other Unions, has been lobbying the state government on the issue for years.

A portable LSL scheme allows a worker to move between employers over their career in the industry and build up their LSL entitlements.

The State Government is looking to establish a Portable Long Service Leave (PLSL) scheme for the broader not for profit community services sector which will include NGO Disability Service Employers.
Unfortunately, and despite past support for a scheme, the NGO employers are now mounting a campaign of opposition to the scheme. Members should be alarmed by this, we have been campaigning for Portability of Long Service Leave for many years and are now anxious that it will be lost. NGO Employers need to know that there is unanimous support for a PLSL scheme. We are asking you to bring it up with your CEO – either in person or via email – as this is too good an opportunity to miss and you want them to support Portability of Long Service Leave.

Without employer support, there may be no Portable Long Service Leave.

Developing our EBA Claims
Having been out to most workplaces and surveyed the membership extensively we are now in the final stages of developing member’s claims. The claims will have common elements but will be issued to each employer.

It will list the desired wage increases and improvements to conditions that HACSU members have identified.

HACSU Area Organisers will be conducting another round of workplace meetings where the claim for each individual employer will be outlined and members will be asked to endorse it.

Once members have endorsed the campaign we will then be moving to the next phase of the campaign of applying pressure on employers to meet our demands, this will also involve drawing in the state government which funds the NGO services.

Strengthening the Campaign
The success of this camping will be dependent on the number of HACSU members in our workforce. A united front always has better bargaining power, so make sure you sign up at least one colleague to HACSU today.

We’ve included a flyer with some details of the campaign on it and a membership form on the back. Please put this to good use and sign someone up in your workplace.

Fair employment standards and recruitment and retention are the major issues facing the NGO sector. The services need a Sustainable Workforce. This means training opportunities, meaningful career paths, paid maternity leave and portability of long service leave. It also means improvements in Occupational Health and Safety.

If you need more information or have any questions about the campaign, please don’t hesitate to contact the union on 1300 651 931 or via email at hacsu@hacsu.asn.au.