Award Reform 2024 Campaign Guide

Award Reform 2024 In 2024 our Union will negotiate with NSW Health to modernise doctors working conditions and improve patient care in NSW.

For us to be successful, we need to work together.

This guide has been developed to provide the information you need to be involved in our campaign.

The more doctors we have active in our campaign, the stronger our negotiating position!

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for all medical staff working for NSW Health. This includes Assistants in Medicine, Interns, Residents, Registrars, Senior Registrars, Staff Specialists, Senior Staff Specialists, Clinical Academics, Medical Superintendents, and Career Medical Officers.

Who we are

Award Reform 2024

A Union is a group of employees who use their collective strength to give people a voice in the workplace and work towards fair pay and working conditions.

ASMOF is the only Union in NSW dedicated to improving the working lives of salaried doctors. We represent the interests of our members who work in public and nongovernment health services across NSW. We are run by doctors, for doctors. Our staff are industrial specialists who know your rights and are experienced working within our health system.

Your conditions at work Your conditions at work are outlined in different legislation, awards and policy documents. Together they outline your rights across various areas, including your pay & leave entitlements, safety at work, flexible work, protection against bullying and harassment, private practice arrangements + much more.

The main document that outlines your work conditions is known as your Award. As a Union, we are a party to your Award. Only a Union can negotiate changes to your Award, and only a Union can legally enforce your rights at work.

Staff Specialists are covered by the Staff Specialists (State) Award 2023 Medical Officers, including Assistants in Medicine, Interns, Residents, Registrars, and Senior Registrars, are covered by the Public Hospital Medical Officers (State) Award 2023 Career Medical Officers are covered by Public Hospital Career Medical Officers (State) Award 2023 Medical Superintendents are covered by Public Hospitals (Medical Superintendents) Award 2023 Clinical Academics are covered by PD2019_055. Clinical Academics Employed in the NSW Health Service Your Awards are current until June 2024 Our campaign aim is that by 30 June 2024, we will have brand new Awards that significantly improve your working life.

These new Awards will ensure we can attract and retain medical staff in NSW and keep our patients safe.

Why are we campaigning now?

How do we achieve change?

We don’t need to tell you that the NSW public health system is in crisis and that permanent medical staffing is at an all-time low. We are dealing with a decade of policy neglect. The previous Government’s wage cap was used to stifle Union negotiations, and our pay and conditions have stagnated over the decade the cap was in place. Our conditions and remuneration don’t begin to reflect the value of our work.

Our model for change is based on harnessing our collective strength as a Union.

Stagnate wages and comparatively poor working conditions when compared to other states, has resulted in a shortage of permanent salaried doctors in NSW Health. Talented clinicians are unable to commit to the NSW public sector, and are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.

We must make the NSW public sector an attractive place to work again.

The recently elected Minns Labor Government has pledged to replace the wage cap with a system based on collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and the Union aimed at reaching formal agreements on worker’s rights.

The campaign begins with your insights. Through a range of meetings and consultations, we will invite you to share your thoughts on areas that require improvement, gaps that need filling, and ideas that could revolutionise our profession.

This is an opportunity for you to influence the course of change directly. By actively engaging and contributing your perspectives, you ensure our efforts are rooted in your realities.

Through this collective brainstorming, we will create a comprehensive ‘log of claims’. This will be an evidencebased, achievable, and collectively supported vision for award reform that encapsulates your needs and aspirations.

We will use our log of claims as the basis for the bargaining process with NSW Health. To get you started on thinking about what we might be in the log of claims, we have included some questions for reflection on the back of this campaign guide.

A new government with a new industrial policy presents us with an opportunity to improve working conditions for salaried doctors in NSW. Better working conditions will help us keep clinicians in the public system, fill vacancies, and deliver quality care for patients.

Our campaign aim is that by 30 June 2024, we will have brand new Awards that significantly improve your working life.

These new Awards will ensure we can attract and retain medical staff in NSW and keep our patients safe.

One of the most important things we can do is ensure that all salaried doctors are Union members.

Our membership density directly impacts our negotiating power and allows our Union to speak with greater authority. Talking to your colleagues about the campaign and Union membership is one critical way we can achieve our aims.

For our campaign to succeed, we also need our members to step up and engage with the key players, including politicians and the broader community. We must tell our stories of working in the public health system and why we need a fairer and safer workplace to care for our patients. We must share these stories far and wide across traditional and social media.

Over the coming months, you will hear much more from us as we invite you to participate in our campaign.

If you have thoughts about the campaign that you want to share or if you want to be actively involved, we encourage you to reach out anytime at awardreform@asmof.org.au.

Award Reform 2024

What can a new award change?

The award covers all conditions of your employment with NSW Health. It outlines your remuneration, leave conditions and allowances; just to name a few. But this isn’t all - an award can also mandate safe working hours, minimum staffing levels and the ways in which management need to consult with clinicians when making decisions.

When thinking about what we want from a new award it’s important to consider more than pay equity and conditions. We also need to think about how we can use this process to improve outcomes for patients.

To get you started in thinking about our log claims, we have developed some questions for you to reflect upon.

To get you started in thinking about our log claims, we have developed some questions for you to reflect upon.

1. Improving Patient Care: Recognising the crucial connection between working conditions and patient outcomes, we are committed to creating conditions that enhance patient care.

•

What are three essential conditions that resonate deeply with you and that you wish to see improved?

•

Do you think advocating for safe and reasonable work hours is a priority objective for the Union?

•

What would you be prepared to do to ensure public health services were adequately staffed?

•

What do you think people in Government need to hear about medical staffing and patient care?

2. Fair Remuneration: We advocate for remuneration that reflects the dedication and expertise of our doctors, creating a rewarding environment that guarantees both attraction and retention.

•

What do you believe constitutes fair compensation for your role and contributions?

•

Can you pinpoint areas in how you are remunerated that require attention to ensure you’re fairly rewarded for your work?

3. Work/life balance: Doctors deserve to have a life outside of work, and it is crucial to maintain our mental wellbeing. Many of us also have caring responsibilities, which can be difficult to manage alongside medicine.

•

Do you have opportunities to work flexibly?

•

Are you able to access leave when you need it?

•

What would help you achieve a better work/life balance?

4. Recognition and respect: Doctors are the backbone of the health system and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We must also have our professionalism recognised and rewarded.

•

Do you think your views are appropriately considered in the design of health services?

•

How could we achieve better recognition and respect for doctors?

Award Reform 2024