Public sector change seems a constant, but

CHANGE SEEMS A CONSTANT, BUT...

IF THERE'S one thing that's a constant in the Tasmanian public sector it's change, and the change proposals that should come with it - emphasis on 'should'.

In both the Health and Human Services and Nurses awards there's a specific clause that governs the process of change. It says that if management wants to make changes to work arrangements or practices that are likely to impact employees, they must consult with the affected staff and their union before a final decision is made. The process is to inform affected employees about the proposed change and provide a genuine opportunity to influence the outcome before a decision is made. You and your union are to be provided with access to all the relevant information about the change, be given the opportunity to provide feedback, and receive a response to your feedback. There must be four clear stages to a change proposal: 1. Formulation of ideas or proposal 2. Consultation on the proposal 3. Consider feedback and provide response 4. Final decision and implementation There can be a 5th step on some occasions which is when, as a result of the feedback from employees and the union, management withdraw the proposal and restart the process. So that’s the theory, the ‘should’, but some areas recently thought the award rules just didn’t apply to them. There was a move in the Mental Health Inpatient Unit to completely change the work practices of more than 15 years by simply sending out an email. The change was to remove the bedroom CCTV in the High Dependency Unit in K Block. Lets forget for a moment that the unit was designed and built with CCTV in place and signed off by many senior, highly paid management officials. Management had discovered, after a visit from a mental health advocacy group inspecting the new K Block, that it could be a breach of patients’ privacy rights to have CCTV in the bedroom. Nurses and staff had access to the CCTV feed and could check on the patient’s wellbeing in between the 15 minute observations, as they'd been doing for the past 15 years. The big issue here is lack of consultation, with management never considering how this sort of change to a long-held work practice could affect staff. They never thought about the safety implications of removing access to the CCTV footage. Members on the unit contacted us about the intention to remove the CCTV and we immediately wrote to and then met with local management. We reminded them of their obligations under the award and further advised that as we were in dispute the current status quo was to remain. Management proceeded with the removal, we proceeded to the Industrial Commission, and the commission ruled that management had to provide a change proposal as per the award. We now have a working group on the unit to manage the change and, as an added bonus, fix some of the outstanding construction issues. In Perioperative Services there was a management idea to change the reporting line of the theatre orderlies from the orderly department to perioperative. Part of the idea involved creating a supervisory position, and the problem came when they advertised for the supervisor. The department was hiring a supervisor who didn’t have anyone reporting to them. When we pointed this out to management they realised they needed a change proposal, in fact it should have come before advertising the position. The change proposal process is not optional, it is an award condition not a choice. A change proposal process is put in place to better inform a decision and to influence the outcome to make a better workplace. If your management want to make a change in your workplace they have to follow this process. If you suspect they aren't, let us know because, although they may manage it, it's your workplace.