Inform - Issue 2, 2023

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of lutruwita/Tasmania, the palawa people and their elders past and present. We recognise their enduring connection to the land, sea, and waterways. The palawa people belong to the oldest continuing culture in the world, and we acknowledge with deep respect the values, language, and traditions they hold. Palawa cared for and protected Country for thousands of years and continue to do so, we thank them for protecting these lands for time immemorial and extend our respects to any First Nations people reading.

HACSU supports a process of genuine truth telling about our history – that means listening to Indigenous voices. We hope we can walk together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for a better future and for justice, because sovereignty has never been ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

HACSU who's who

COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT STAFF

Robbie Moore State Secretary

Lucas Digney Assistant State Secretary

Judy Richmond President, Mersey Community Hospital

Chris Webb Senior Vice-President, HACSU Holiday Home Maintenance Officer

Leigh Gorringe Trustee, Oral Health Services Eastern Shore

Christine Hansson Junior Vice-President, Healthscope Hobart Private Hospital

Peter Moore Trustee, NW Disability Services Parkside

Andrew Challis Member, North West Private Hospital

Marlene McHenry Member, Beaconsfield District Health

Melissa Bibe Member, Launceston General Hospital

Carolyn Shearer Member, Oak Possability Tasmania

Dave Thomas Member, N Ambulance Tasmania

Kristy Youd Member, Masonic Care Launceston

Tanya Clifford Member, Royal Hobart Hospital

Nina Manning Member, Alcohol and Drug Services

CONTACT US

1300 880 032

assist@hacsu.org.au

Hobart: 11 Clare St, New Town

Launceston: Suite 104, 287 Charles St

Devonport: 80 Oldaker St

STATE SECRETARY

Robbie Moore

ASSISTANT STATE SECRETARY

Lucas Digney

ADMINISTRATION

Angela Cook - Finance Manager

Carly Swards - Finance & Admin

Laura Binns - Membership & Admin

Raylene Woods - Launceston Admin

Sarah Langfeldt - Membership & Admin

Scott Ellis - Membership & Admin

Sonia Serbanescu - Membership & Admin

COMMUNICATIONS

Chelsea Menzie - Media & Publications

Dorothy Liu - Communications & Marketing

Ness Finn - Admin & Comms Manager

INDUSTRIAL ORGANISERS

HACSU ASSIST

Lizi Ralph

Richard Parkinson

Shane Kunze

Danny McCormick

HOBART

Desmond Marcenko

James Eddington - Industrial Manager

James Milligan - Legal Officer

Rachel Brown

Shane Hamel

Sharon Swards

Tammy Munro - Operations Lead

LAUNCESTON

Geoff Blyth

Megan Thomas

DEVONPORT

Lithira Abeysinghe

Odette Seabourne

SUB-BRANCHES

ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Aiden Stalker

Anne-Marie Avery

Daniel Moore

Fiona Jones

Janet Howells

Natasha Meerding

Nina Manning

Leigh Gorringe

Leonie Halley

Scott Ragg

Sophie Mummery

Stephen Hayes

Ted Sherrin

Vanessa Ireland

AMBULANCE

Adam Fowler

Alan Blank

Bec Gibson

Cam Johnson

David Munting

James Watkins

Jan Pur

Luke Sutter

Simone Haigh

Steve Pacheco

NURSES

Alison McKenzie

Christine Hansson

John Coutts

Judy Richmond

Leanne Cowen

Luis del Valle

Paige Ashwood

Shalee Richardson

Susan Banks-Smith

DENTAL

Martin Rose

Samuel Reiseger

FAREWELL, AND THANK YOU

TIM JACOBSON

Well, it’s time to sign off. What a privilege it has been.

Thank you for trusting me and my leadership, particularly as your Secretary, over nearly a decade. Many of you know that I’ve worked for HACSU in various roles over the past 28 years – as an Organiser, an Industrial Officer, as the Assistant Secretary and ultimately your State Secretary.

I grew up in Hobart’s northern suburbs, went through the public school system and then straight out of high school I went to work in the Tasmanian health system at 16 years old. I became a workplace delegate at around 24 when I worked in the hydrotherapy pool at Douglas Parker Rehabilitation Centre.

In late 1993 when my HACSU Organiser went on long service leave, I was asked if I’d like to fill in while he was away. I accepted… and the rest, as they say, is history. Believe it or not, I was a pretty shy young fellow when I first came to the union, but I was enthusiastic and had a genuine desire to change people’s lives for the better! Not so shy these days!

I am incredibly humbled to have had confidence and support of the union’s members over the years. You have no idea how much it has meant to me knowing you have had my back. I have grown very close to many of you and will miss you all very dearly. However, I know it is time to hand over the reins to a new leadership, a leadership group who I know will continue to make your and your families’ lives better.

I am so proud of what my HACSU team and I have achieved. HACSU is without a doubt Tasmania’s largest, most respected, and most progressive union. We are the epitome of a modern union. We campaign for what we believe in. The successes are numerous. But those successes aren’t entirely my own. HACSU has a team of staff, delegates, sub-branch activists and a Committee of Management who you should also be proud of.

Some decisions I have made have sometimes

been tough and controversial, but it has always been you, HACSU members, who have been at the centre of my decision-making as your Secretary over the past decade. I have always acted in what I have considered to be your best interests.

For me, I will now be taking a bit of a break, having a long overseas holiday in the sun, riding my motorcycle and enjoying a little time without stress. But I won’t be completely disappearing. I have held the position of Senior National Assistant Secretary (an honorary role) of the national Health Services Union for many years now and will continue in that position until the next elections in 2026.

Your union is the largest it has ever been, with now over 10,000 members. It is in a very sound financial position which will enable the new leadership to continue to invest in resourcing and supporting you all. As much as I am looking forward to my retirement it is extremely hard to say goodbye.

It gives me great pleasure to say that with Robbie Moore as the incoming Secretary I know that HACSU is in safe hands. Robbie has been a loyal and passionate deputy for many years. We have been a great team and he shares my passion for our might union.

Farewell and thank you. It has been an absolute honor to serve you.

CHARTING A PATH FORWARD: A MESSAGE FROM THE NEW STATE SECRETARY

ROBBIE MOORE STATE SECRETARY

I’m excited and fortunate to take on the role of State Secretary of this great union at such an important time in our union’s history.

I firstly want to acknowledge the tremendous leadership of outgoing secretary and my mentor Tim Jacobson. Tim has been a magnificent leader of our union who has seen this union grow in strength. Under his leadership, we have become Tasmania’s largest union now with over 10,000 members. Tim has overseen significant improvements to wages and working conditions for members across the state and he led the way when health workers were being ignored during the recent pandemic. He leaves this union all the stronger and should rightfully be proud of what he has achieved.

I do not take on the privilege of this role lightly and I am acutely aware of the significant opportunities and challenges ahead. The HACSU staff team are determined to improve the lives of people working in the health and community services sector. We’re excited to take the challenges head on and fight hard, as we always have, to make change for the better in health, aged care, and disability and community services.

July this year brought the most significant development in aged care in 40 years, with the minimum 15% wage increase for direct care workers coming into effect. We have been fighting for this for years by running our Work Value Case for all aged care workers in the Fair Work Commission nationally. When we lodged the application there wasn’t a whole lot of support from the government, employers, or even other unions. But we pushed ahead anyway, and although we haven’t yet secured the 25% increase for all aged care workers, we’ve taken a huge step towards winning. And the fight goes on.

We’re still in the Fair Work Commission prosecuting the case for all workers to receive a much-needed pay increase – including everyone who works in the kitchen, the laundry, gardening, maintenance, cleaning and administration. And we’re still fighting to get the 15% interim increase for everyone. We’ve kicked our campaign up a gear by directly lobbying the Federal Government and we’re hopeful that we’ll have won both of these fights for aged care workers by the end of the year.

The disability sector is facing significant challenges with the NDIS which, whilst well-intentioned, has often driven down working conditions. We need a better NDIS that delivers better for participants and workers alike. Like workers in the sector, we’re well aware of some of the waste and misuse of NDIS funds whilst the funding of the NDIS fails to ensure decent wages and conditions for workers.

We have seen too many employers use the scheme to casualise the workforce and drive job insecurity. This has led to workers leaving the sector and means that there is plenty of unmet demand, meaning that participants are missing out. HACSU is working nationally with other unions to campaign

for much-needed changes to the system to see funding used to improve wages and conditions –and better regulations so that workers can safely expose the misuse of funds.

Meanwhile, our public and private health services are still at breaking point. We’re still seeing paramedics ramped in hospital corridors with their patients for hours, causing longer waits for emergency responses and putting Tasmanian lives at risk. The lack of pay parity for health professionals across the health system and community services means that staff are working short, leading to detrimental outcomes for patients and clients.

We are pushing hard for the market allowance that is part of the new agreement to be paid in areas that have staff shortages. Workers at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services on the north west, who have had over 50% of positions

vacant for over 3 years, have been the first group to say “enough is enough” and to commence industrial action.

I suspect more workers across the public sector will consider going down this path so that there can be enough staff to provide vital services to the Tasmanian community.

These are just a few of the issues HACSU members are up against now.

The HACSU staff and I are determined to stand with you and help you in taking on these challenges. We’ll be here with you, proactively looking at how we can lead change across health and community services to win better working conditions and better services for the community.

I look forward to working with you over the coming months.

HACSU at ACTU 2023 Organising Conference

THE BATTLE FOR MORE THAN SURVIVAL

LUCAS DIGNEY ASSISTANT STATE SECRETARY

Over the course of the past three agonising years, Australia has been through the wringer not only with the pandemic, but also in the face of the ongoing mess of inflation and skyrocketing cost of living.

There is a battle raging over wealth in our country.

It’s a fact that profits are soaring high across nearly every sector. Multinational companies are raking in money and hoarding it away from everyone whilst they turn around and shut down services and tell workers there’s not enough to go around.

Meanwhile, working people are fighting for wage increases to keep up with the cost of… well, everything.

Wages have gone up by 3.5% on average over the last year in the private sector. It’s still not enough to keep up with the ballooning cost of living – but even a number like that has got conservative analysts and business economists scaremongering about wage growth being too high and how it’s a threat to our economy.

In fact, we all know that we’re facing the opposite problem. Wage growth isn’t high enough. The cost of living is what’s actually putting people in jeopardy. Business isn’t doing it tough. Working people are.

Corporate interests want us to believe that it’s greedy for us to dream of more than brute survival. They’re wrong.

We are not asking for too much.

We should be able to pay for a roof over our heads, food on our tables, heating in winter, all the amenities we need to keep the house running, a good education and activities for the kids. And there should be money left to enjoy ourselves. To go on a big holiday, see a concert, learn something new, go to the footy, go to the movies, get a new TV, eat out, go to the pub, go see the world. To buy that motorbike, or the dream handbag, or the new PlayStation. To enjoy being alive.

Our jobs should pay us enough money to live – not just survive. That’s what we’re fighting for.

Meet new HACSU staff

Lithira Abeysinghe

Hi there! I’m Lith, your new Industrial Organiser for HACSU members working in the public sector in the north west.

While I may be new to Tasmania, I’ve come all the way from the NT, where I have previously worked as a Community Campaigns Officer for the union movement. And I have to say, I love the nature and the people here far more than the weather!

I am deeply passionate about making a difference in working people’s lives. Having grown up in the Maldives and Sri Lanka has shaped my beliefs surrounding equity and justice.

When I’m not in the thick of work, you’ll likely find me enjoying a game of cricket or exploring the beautiful Tasmanian bush, and I’m impartial to the odd bevy. On the side, I’m also working towards completing my qualifications in Law.

if you spot me hustling around your workplace, please don’t hesitate to come and have a chat with me!

Danny McCormick

I’m Danny, the new contact centre organiser at HACSU.

I have worked in disability support and aged care for over 30 years. Before becoming an organiser, I had been a public service aged care and disability support worker delegate in Adelaide for 15 years and a disability support worker delegate with HACSU for 10 years. I have been involved in enterprise bargaining, representing colleagues and campaigning on local, state, and federal issues.

I know how important delegates are in improving conditions for workers, so I am keen to hear from ours, as well as from members who want to step up but aren’t sure how to.

Outside of union activism, my passions are music, writing, history and social justice. I am currently working on a walking tour of Launceston’s historically significant pubs – places where Tasmanian workers met and formed our earliest unions.

The contact centre team are an incredible group of people, and I’m truly honored to be part of it.

I look forward to hearing from you and, together, doing all we can to ensure your rights at work are protected.

HACSUassist is our expert member representation and advice service, which is free as a part of your HACSU membership. Our assist team are dedicated individual organisers, who work in our contact centre helping members day in and day out, representing you at meetings, and defending your rights at work.

We’ve had some massive wins for members through our HACSUassist service – and often it’s because members have called up to ask a basic question and found out that they’re entitled to more than they first thought.

If you’re ever unsure about something at work, remember it always pays to speak up and ask questions.

Pregnant workers win safe job

work with them during what can often be a stressful time – not force them into financial disadvantage by making them take unpaid leave.

Usually, these accommodations can be as simple as arranging ‘light duties’ that a pregnant person can work instead. But in this instance for example, the employer was still trying to make the pregnant workers do the heavy lifting – and give them the boot if they refused.

It’s your right to be safe at work, especially when you’re going through the changes to your abilities that pregnancy may bring, and it’s actually discrimination for your boss not to accommodate this change properly.

HACSUassist Win Big for Members

Recently, we were able to help two pregnant members working for the same disability employer. They’d been wrongly told by their management that if they couldn’t complete jobs like heavy lifting or physically intensive parts of their role that they need to take unpaid parental leave due to them not being able to complete all their duties safely – and that management weren’t going to pay them for the shifts they’d been kicked off.

This isn’t on. We were able to advise the members that under national employment law, the onus is on the employer to make accommodations for pregnant workers and

Our National Employment Standards say that light duties must be arranged, and if there’s none available then the worker needs to be paid “safe job” pay to compensate for the fact that they’re losing out on employment that they’d be able to carry out if accommodated.

Despite what the employer was telling workers, when HACSU got involved they were quick to change their tune.

We told the employer that they’re required to make alternative arrangements, or pay the members their safe job pay, and within an hour we got the call from management that they’d resolved the issue.

It always pays to speak up if you think something isn’t quite right, because we know that employers aren’t always across their obligations and can often get things wrong.

Picking up the bill for training? It’s your employer’s shout

Another case we saw was a casual disability support worker who was ending their employment with a provider. At the end of their employment management tried to send them a bill to repay $1500 worth of training that was mandated by the company for them to undertake their role.

It sounds brazen, but it’s a situation that we run into often and help our members through.

We wrote back to management on behalf of the member, and we told them that it’s unreasonable to try and bill ex-staff for training that workers were mandated to do by the company in the first place.

After we were able to get involved and tell them that it’s unreasonable, the company told us that they would not be billing this worker – and that they’d be changing the policy all together to make sure this kind of issue doesn’t happen again.

It’s a massive win – but it must make you wonder about what might’ve happened if that member didn’t know about their rights to get their union involved.

to date with new changes to the law that unions have won.

For a long time, we’ve been campaigning for all workers to get 10 days of paid domestic violence leave – and finally this year we won.

When it came into effect earlier this year however, a lot of employers weren’t across their obligations (even though they should be).

HACSU helped assist a member who was unfortunately facing violence at home and made sure that they could use their new entitlements to sort out many of the issues that we know come along with trying to leave a violent situation.

Initially, the worker told management what was going on, and their boss turned around trying to claim that there was no such thing as domestic violence leave at their workplace. When she pushed them further, they said that workers were entitled to 5 days’ unpaid leave.

What management didn’t know is that we’ve been fighting for these 10 days for a long time, and we’ll continue to fight to make sure that workers who need it are able to access it – even though we hope they’ll never need to.

When HACSU got involved, we were able to remind the employer what their obligations are under the new laws and make sure that she was recredited the sick and annual leave she wrongfully had to take over this period.

It takes leave to leave

Another common issue we often help our members with is when employers aren’t up

If you’re ever worried about something that’s gone on at work, or you have a question about what exactly you’re entitled to make sure you give our friendly expert team a buzz via HACSUassist on 1300 880 032.

WHEN 800 INDIGENOUS WORKERS WENT ON STRIKE

On 1 May 1946, 800 Aboriginal workers from two dozen pastoral stations walked off the job in a display of solidarity that shocked white station owners and bosses. Fought over working conditions and living standards, the Pilbara strike remains a landmark moment in Aboriginal people’s fight for self-determination – and the longest ever strike in Australian trade union history.

Aboriginal pastoral labour in Australia

The labour of Aboriginal workers played a big role in The labour of Aboriginal workers played a big role in the economy at the time. Aboriginal pastoral workers quickly built up a reputation as the best in the world, yet they were often treated as expendable by their white bosses. These workers, called ‘stock boys’ and ‘house girls’, were treated as slave labour, forced to live in bush camps without access to amenities or proper food and kept in isolation from others in their community.

At the time, the aftermath of the second world war and the labour shortages it created began to see Aboriginal workers taking up a variety of “skilled” positions that were usually refused to them by their white counterparts – and it was during this time that their collective power as workers began to grow.

On strike

The seed of the Pilbara strike grew from a tribal law meeting in Skull Springs. After a history of exclusion from discussions about their own lives, Indigenous workers brought together over 200 representatives across 23 language groups and decided action must be taken to better their conditions.

What came after the meeting was two years of unsuccessful negotiations between their representative Don McLeod, the Native Affairs bureaucracy, and the state government.

In March of 1945, an Indigenous organiser named Binbin set off by rail to spread a singular message: strike on 1 May. A calendar scrawled on food tin labels was given to each station involved, which counted down the weeks until the strike was to take place. While McLeod grew sceptical that other stations would be willing to join the strike, Binbin persisted in his travels across Pilbara to organise other Aboriginal workers.

The beginning of the strike coincided not only with May Day, but the beginning of a new season of shearing. The Aboriginal pastoralists demands were simple: better living and working conditions.

The efforts of Aboriginal women as both strikers and organisers were crucial to the success of the strike during its early stages. While most accounts documenting the strike largely focus on the male activists involved, Nungamurda women like Daisy Bindi were responsible for spreading the strike up through the Pilbara’s inlands, collecting supporters from her area and organising transportation.

Image: Men marching into Port Hedland on 1 August 1946 to release McLeod from the lock-up. Source: The Pilbara Aboriginal Strike (Workers’ Star, 30 April 1948, p. 4.)

Don McLeod

Daisy Bindi

As the months wiled away, the strike grew to become much more than just the marrngu refusing to participate in their own exploitation. Strike camps were set up as self-governing communities bolstered by their own mining and hunting enterprises and the donations of supporters, with prominent settlements established in 12 Mile and Moolyella. These camps were frequented by station owners, who with the aid of the police, threatened workers to return to work. With food supplies constantly dwindling, there was much pressure on workers to concede, but they remained steadfast.

A hard-fought ending

At the beginning of the 1949 shearing season, the Mt Edgar and Limestone stations relinquished to some of the strikers’ demands for better wages and conditions.

After this, workers asked the Seamen’s Union (SUA) to help them see the rest of their demands met, and together implemented a ban on shipping wool from other stations at Port Hedland.

The bans continued to wear the government down, and after some time the Deputy Commissioner for Native Affairs, Elliot Smith, made assurances to McLeod that the improved conditions negotiated at Mt Edgar and Limestone would be standardised at stations across Pilbara.

With this promise made, strikers returned to work and the ban on wool was lifted. Weeks later, after the bulk of the year’s shearing season had been completed, it was revealed that the Commissioner

had no intention to honour his agreement with McLeod.

Legacy of the Pilbara strike

In some ways, it’s a bittersweet end – but the Pilbara strike remains an important story about the real history of Indigenous self-determination in Australia. The self-sustaining Indigenous communities that arose from the strike – some still in existence, remain a powerful testament to the perseverance of Aboriginal people in the face of government policy dedicated to their eradication. And as workers, it shows the true power we can have when we band together and organise to make real change.

Communities such as those founded at 12 Mile demonstrate that the action required to achieve such autonomy did not necessarily require government intervention, and Aboriginal people were able to become the masters of their own destinies on their own terms.

As the longest strike in Australia’s history, Pilbara’s significance in the labour movement cannot be discounted. The resolve demonstrated by the Pilbara strikers permanently changed WA labour relations, demonstrating that Aboriginal workers could not continue to go unappreciated and underpaid.

Now, it’s time to honour Pilbara strikers this year as we head to referendum – by giving our Indigenous brothers and sisters a chance to have a real say once again on the issues that affect them most.

WE’RE CAMPAIGNING TO SUPPORT DISABILITY SUPPORT WORKERS

We’re the union for disability and community workers, and we know that the NDIS is only as good as the way its workers are treated.

Now, it’s time for the government and decision makers to start supporting you – because you do an important job, and your participants’ living standards are directly related to your working standards.

HACSU, and our national union the HSU, are launching our national Support Disability Support Workers campaign to see better working conditions and end worker exploitation in the disability sector for good.

Here’s what we’re fighting for in our Support Disability Support Workers campaign:

Lifting quality and safeguards

We need to stop the rorts and rip-offs in the disability sector and register all providers, to keep a high standard of employer and a high standard of care for our vulnerable people.

This means stricter obligations on providers, including mandatory registration to a NDIS quality and safeguards commission.

It also means funding models that deliver better training and creating a national worker registration accreditation scheme with minimum qualifications required to work with clients.

And most importantly for workers, it means better funding for bargaining and ensuring we keep wages moving up above the award in funding models.

Ending worker exploitation

We need to see better regulation and reigning in of ‘gig-worker’ style arrangements in disability, like the use of sole traders and ABN holders who are readily, and currently legally, exploited and denied their entitlements by rogue disability companies.

We’re pushing for the government to fix the award – because disability support workers can’t afford to keep getting ripped off under the sleepover allowance in the SCHCDS Award.

Finally, the government must consider improving job security, and worker mobility, by enacting a portable long service leave entitlement scheme – so workers can stop losing out on their hard-earned LSL benefits when they move between providers.

We’ve also been lobbying the national NDIS review and our politicians to change the law on the issues that matter most to disability workers. Here’s what we told them in our submission to the NDIS review:

• Pricing pressures & employment standards: We need providers to be more transparent in their prices, and make sure these prices are inclusive of labour costs – including supporting wages above the award, and a better balance of funding in SIL

• Training & skills development: We’re pushing for a consolidated NDIS training fund, empowered by a NDIS workforce strategy, safe staffing levels and appropriate placements, portable leave entitlements and a NDIS traineeship framework.

• Provider registration & regulation: There needs to be risk-proportionate registration of providers and better regulation on gig-work

• Workforce registration: Universal, mandatory worker registration and screening and accreditation, minimum standards and an ongoing training requirement to keep registration

These are the issues our members and their participants tell us they care about every single day –and it’s long overdue for them to start being heard.

Better standards, better pay and better working conditions attract and keep better workers. So let’s Support Disability Support Workers to do their best.

If you’re interested in getting involved in our Support Disability Support Workers campaign, please make sure you get in touch with us to make your voice heard!

AHPs actions win back annual leave

Allied health professionals who work in Nutrition and Dietetics at the RHH and the Community Rehabilitation Unit had their annual leave taken off them earlier this year, after a stoush with Department management over their entitlements.

It all kicked off when AHPs who worked the Christmas holiday had their annual leave deducted by the Department – even though those days are gifted and not to be taken out of annual leave. Talk about a lump of coal.

This meant that workers didn’t have as much leave banked up to visit family, friends or rest and recharge like they’re entitled to.

AHPs are the workers who stop us getting sick and help us get better. They provide important and specialised care that patients wouldn’t get otherwise without them – and they’d rather be helping their patients than having to fight just to be given their basic entitlements by the Department.

But things changed when workers contacted their union and got organised. Workers vowed to take action after a long back and forth where higher management still couldn’t seem to fix the problem – even though they’d said they had.

Workers were getting ready to wear badges, distribute information to the public and escalate

to stop-works if they had to –but as soon as the Department heard action was set to start, they baulked and returned annual leave to all HACSU members.

This win only came because of workers standing up and demanding better.

Because of workers’ willingness to act, we were able to get direct evidence out of the Department to prove the leave had been given back – and this meant we could call off the action. Not that the Department should’ve let it come to that in the first place.

It took weeks of asking, writing to HR and even starting industrial action, but AHPs have proven through it all that when you’re willing to stand up and advocate for your rights you can get what you’re owed – and what you deserve.

Congratulations to our Allied Health workers for winning their leave back – it really shows the power you have in your workplace when you stick together.

If you’ve ever got questions about your entitlements at work, it pays to speak up and it pays to be union. We’re always here to back members and help them get what they deserve.

If you’ve ever got questions about your entitlements at work, it pays to speak up and it pays to be union. We’re always here to back members and help them get what they deserve.

THE VOICE TO PARLIAMENT: HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

It’s been a while since we’ve voted in a referendum – the last one was more than 20 years ago in 1999.

A referendum is a compulsory vote that happens when the constitution, the founding document of our nation, is undergoing a proposed change. Our constitution can only be changed when a ‘double majority’ of voters in a majority of states and territories vote YES to the change.

This referendum is about changing the constitution to include a First Nations Voice to parliament – which would recognise the oldest continuing culture in the world in our founding document and give them more say on government decisions that affect them.

In 2017, Aboriginal leaders from across the country met in Uluru and endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart – a document which asks non-Indigenous Australians to walk with First Nations people towards truth telling, treaty and a Voice.

Since then, many of these leaders have been campaigning tirelessly for the Voice referendum to kick-off, because for over 200 years Australian governments have been making decisions about First Nations peoples without including or advising them properly.

These decisions have resulted in the outcomes we see today, where the statistics show that life for many First Nations Australians is hard, short and poor. It starts that way, and few are given the chance to catch up.

Something isn’t working and needs to change.

As a union, we always stand up for fairness, justice and making sure no one is left behind. These issues affect many First Nations workers across the country – and they have asked for our help.

This is our chance to do the right thing and say YES to a change that is fair, practical and long overdue. We can’t miss this opportunity.

The Voice will not have the power to make laws or stop the government from passing laws – it will be an advisory body with a set scope.

A referendum to change the constitution means that no government or prime minister can take it away – this protects our choice for Indigenous people to have their Voice recognised.

Almost 9 million Australians will need to vote YES to win a Voice, so we’re going to have to spread the word, even to people we don’t normally talk to about politics.

Looking for information or a way to get involved? Make sure you get in touch with us to get involved in our campaign, or jump on to www.yes23.com.au/ to get informed!

T he Uluru S tatement from the Heart in MANDARIN

来自于全国各地的我们，相聚于2017年全国宪章大会，共同提出这发自肺腑的宣言：

我 们 的 原 住 民 与 托 雷 斯 海 峡 岛 民 部 落 ， 拥 有 澳 洲大陆及其邻近岛屿的最初主权，并依据我 们 自 己 的 法 律 与 传 统 享 有 这 片 土 地 。 自 创 世 之 日起，以我们的文化所鉴，以“太古”以来 的普通法系所鉴，以超过六万年的自然科学所鉴，我们的祖先立根于此。

这 片 拥 有 主 权 的 土 地 属 于 种 精 神 概 念 ： 即 土 地（或自然母亲）与原住民、托雷斯海峡岛 民 之 间 的 祖 系 纽 带 。 他 们 出 生 于 此 ， 与 这 片 土 地紧密相连。终有一日，他们将归位原处， 与 我 们 的 祖 先 团 聚 。 此 种 纽 带 为 其 拥 有 此 土 地 之本，乃至为主权之本。主权从未割让或消 亡，与王室主权并存。

非 此为何？其人民拥有此片土地六万余载，岂可在近两百年内的短时间就消匿于世界历 史？

实 质 性 修 宪 及 实 施 结 构 性 改 革 ， 让 我 们 相 信 ： 此古老主权将长盛不衰，使澳大利亚国家之 品格更饱满完整。

就 比 例 而 言 ， 我 们 为 世 上 受 最 多 监 禁 的 人 民 。 但我们不是生来犯罪的民族。我们许多的孩 子 早 早 就 与 家 人 分 离 ， 但 不 是 因 为 我 们 不 爱 他 们。我们的青年身陷囹圄、饱受折磨，数量 之多令人发指。他们本应是我们未来的希冀。

我 们所面临的这些危机，痛苦地控诉着我们问题的结构性因素。这，就是我们无力的煎 熬。

我 们 寻 求 宪 法 改 革 ， 为 我 们 民 族 赋 能 ， 为 能 在 自己的国家享有应有的地位。只有掌握自己

的 命 运 ， 我 们 的 下 代 才 能 茁 壮 成 长 。 他 们 将 行走于两个世界；他们的文化将成为献给祖 国的厚礼。

我们呼吁将原住民之声载入宪法。

“马卡拉塔”(Makarrata)是我们运动的最终目标：在苦难后团结一致。它包含我们与澳大 利 亚 人 民 建 立 起 公 平 、 真 正 友 谊 的 愿 景 ； 象 征 着用正义、自决为我们下一代创造更好的 未来。

我 们 寻 求 建 立 马 卡 拉 塔 委 员 会 ， 成 为 监 督 政 府 与原住民之间的协议进程，并讲述我们民族 的历史真相。

1967 年，我们被纳入人口计算；2017 年，我们希望被倾听。我们离开大本营，用脚步丈量 这 个 广 袤 的 国 家 。 我 们 邀 您 与 我 们 同 行 ， 加 入 澳大利亚的人民运动，共创一个更美好的未 来。

It’s time for the government to get serious about child safety

Child safety service (CSS) workers across the state have been bargaining with the government to finally get an agreement over the line that addresses the systemic issues affecting their services.

CSS are the workers that protect our young people and keep them out of harm’s way – but with the way the system is running right now they’re unable to do their jobs the way they’d like to and guarantee that our young people get the timely help that they need.

The government have been promising a new agreement for a while now, and it’s been a hard battle to get them to front up with it.

Finally, they recently gave us a proposal – and while it’s a start workers have told us that it overpromises in some areas and underwhelms in others.

Workers have been loud and clear that resourcing and the amount of time and service they can provide to any particular case remain the biggest and most concerning matters in getting any agreement that they’ll accept.

Because right now the conditions that they’re expected to work under are unfair for our kids and they’re unfair for our vital CSS workers.

The government’s offer made to us so far fails to address two substantial issues:

• The payment of a market allowance to child safety workers: while they’ve offered a change to the market allowance in this agreement, any new allowance going forward needs to be fair and it needs to target the real issues that this Department has with recruitment and retention once and for all.

• The absence of a safe and sustainable caseload management system: In the past, we’ve enforced a system that was unsophisticated but essential for the health and safety of workers, young people and the families they support. The proposed system in the offer is nothing more than a

guide – and it creates no rights for workers to manage their own workload. We know at the end of the day it’ll leave kids on a list and has largely insufficient oversights. This isn’t good enough.

We’re also taking the Department to task over the expansion of services provided by non-government partners, which workers and HACSU has never been consulted about properly.

Workers have told us that they’ve had enough of the delays and enough of not being able to deliver services to the people that need them most – so now we’re getting ready to take real action.

We’ll be meeting with CSS workers over the coming weeks to make a plan about what actions we can take to make sure that this government starts to seriously listen to the problems you’re facing everyday – and start putting the best interests of the young people you support and their families at the forefront.

If you’re a CSS worker, make sure you keep an eye out for us in your workplaces over the next few weeks where we’ll be ramping up the action – because it’s time for the government to fix our service once and for all.

Child Safety workers in nipaluna/Hobart and Launceston kicked off industrial action with stop-work bbqs around the state.

Workers are pushing the government to finally offer better wages, better recruitment and retention policies and better caseload management to help fix our service, and help our young people.

LGH FOOD SERVICES WORKERS TAKE ON MANAGEMENT

Food Services workers at the Launceston General Hospital took industrial action this March, fighting back against huge wage cuts from their management who tried to bring in massive changes to their hours.

Food Services workers deliver over 1000 meals a day to our sick and vulnerable in hospital, and they are often the first contact patients have with staff some days. Their roles are important, delivering nourishment to our sick people, and they’re an essential part of treatment and recovery.

Part-time Food Services workers who had been routinely picking up more than their contracted hours (sometimes for almost a decade) were losing out on up to $600 a fortnight over a technicality with their contracted hours not being updated.

Even though they’d been working a consistent pattern of hours for years, management tried to argue that they “weren’t being disadvantaged” because their outdated contracted hours were being met under the new proposed roster changes.

“I’ll be losing at least two shifts a fortnight, but probably more. So, I’ll be losing hundreds of dollars a fortnight,” LGH food services assistant Krichelle Bailey said at the time. “I have a family and a mortgage. It’s not fair that I have to consider finding second or third jobs just to pay the bills and feed my family.”

“I’ve had steady work at the LGH for nearly ten years. I’ve always done that extra bit when asked. I feel like we’re not valued.”

Management tried every trick in the book, they intimidated workers into speaking to managers on their own, bribed them with chocolates and even told them that the changes wouldn’t affect them. It was daunting, and it seemed like they’d never budge – but workers’ unity and action would soon start to change things.

Workers kicked off industrial action by speaking out to the media and community about the cuts, wearing badges, distributing flyers and meeting with HACSU to plan escalation in the case that management still refused to fix things.

In a matter of days, management said they would review the cuts – but it wouldn’t be the end of the dispute. After management’s “review”, workers brought it to HACSU’s attention that they were trying to divide and conquer, giving some workers increased hours and continuing to disadvantage others.

Workers vowed that they would fight for everyone – and the action continued until all workers were fairly given back their hours.

Now, the Department have also been forced not only to split their hours up fairly, but to start an audit into historic underpayments that have been affecting workers for years.

This is the power of being union and speaking up when you think something isn’t right.

Congratulations to our vital Food Services workers for sticking together to keep their hours and keep their voice at work.

We’re the union that fights for workers – so if you’re having trouble at work, or need industrial advice, please make sure you get in touch with us today.

BY A WORKER AT LGH FOOD SERVICES

“ We go the extra mile all the time to make patients feel comfor table and respected, but we don’t feel valued by management.”

AMBULANCE WORKERS MAKE CHANGE WITH NEW AGREEMENT

After a long slog and a hard-fought campaign, ambulance workers were finally able to get their agreement officially registered in April.

Even though the government tried to drag the process out, ambos stuck together and won:

• Salary increases of up to 9.3% over the agreement

• An additional $1000 cost-ofliving payment added to the base salary for all HACSU members

• An extra base salary payment for lower-income earners

• First increase back paid from last year (the $1000 base salary back paid)

• Consistency with the State Service award changes we won, including increases to parental leave, secondary caregiver leave, Aboriginal kinship leave, cultural leave, recognition of foster families, and more.

• An increase to professional development and training days

• Better allowances for remote and rural locations, clinical coaches, and clearer rules on travel allowances

• Commitments on leave loading payments and significant changes to the current meal break provisions

All these improvements to the agreement are a massive win that will go a long way to start helping recruit and retain our ambulance workers – and give them the recognition they deserve for helping our most vulnerable.

But ambos weren’t just fighting to get a better deal – they’re fighting to fix the health system for workers and for our community.

During these latest government negotiations, they kept the pressure on the government to fix the issues in Ambulance that extend beyond the agreement.

Now, we’ve also won the development of a one-hour offload policy, that will be negotiated with other health workers and their representatives to make sure that our hospital intake and discharge are working better – freeing up beds and helping patients leave hospital sooner.

The government have also been forced to agree to look at reclassification for our NonEmergency Patient Transport (NEPTS) dispatchers to EMDs –

with a review of their statement of duties to better reflect the important work that they do.

There have also been massive wins in fatigue management –with dedicated staff allocated to help form new procedures on potential fatigue situations like long distance driving. And finally –we got them to make permanent 100 paramedics who were left in limbo earlier in the year by the government (and now we’re fighting for additional workers).

All of these are welcome changes that our ambos fought hard for –and they help keep workers and our patients safe.

Hats off to our HACSU ambos, and to their sub-branch executive, who’ve worked tirelessly and stared down senior bureaucrats throughout the bargain. Without them, we simply would not have achieved this agreement, or these new improvements to fix ramping, fatigue, classifications or achieve permanencies.

This is the power of being union and using our voices – because we’re stronger together and we can make real change at work, and in our communities.

Your HACSU workplace delegate: Natasha Meerding

Natasha Meerding is a recently elected HACSU delegate, working as a dietitian with the Public Health Service.

Natasha’s based in Hobart, with a state-wide role, and she says one of the things she likes most about her job is how diverse the days can be.

“I might go from reviewing a childcare services menu and policies, to supporting a school health nurse with a complicated student to attending a launch of a community garden. Throw in a few Teams meetings, some research on interesting topics and I can see why it has kept me interested for many years.”

She’s been working as a dietitian for 18 years and her current role on and off for 17 of those. She’s also done stints back to clinical dietetics, to Public Health nutrition and to support the COVID response (coordinating the call centres, contact tracing and policy roles).

Prior to being a dietitian, she says she “had many hospitality jobs (both front of house and in the kitchen), I also worked as a maths tutor and as a bushwalking guide at Bay of Fires and Maria Island.”

She’s been a HACSU member for a few years now, and she says the main reason she was inspired to step up and become a delegate is to represent the voices of others in her workplace.

Natasha is passionate about Allied Health, and she’d like to see the needs of AHPs in the Public Health Services, who provide important roles in regulation, prevention and health promotion met better by the Department.

“I hope my workplace continues to be a fun collaborative place to work, responding to consumer needs and providing evidence based supportive health promotion messages.”

In her free time, Natasha likes to spend time with her daughters, run in the bush with friends and visit her favourite cafes.

Her favourite song is Mayonnaise by the Smashing Pumpkins, “or should I have moved on from the 90s?”

UNION WIN: HACSU’S AGED CARE WORK VALUE CASE PAY RISE

Back in July, we finally got our 15% pay rise for most aged care workers around the country.

It’s something HACSU have been pushing for a long time, because we know that recruiting and retaining quality aged care workers is important, especially at the moment.

And now we’ve won. This is because we ran our landmark HACSU Work Value Case to the commission, fighting for our members in aged care to be paid properly for the important work they do.

From 1 July workers received up to $4.60 hourly increases to their pay, funded by the federal government. Aged carers are predominately casualised, predominately female or migrant workers, and historically underpaid – and they deserve recognition and real change.

This historic pay rise will be life-changing for some of the most important workers in Australia, but we’re still fighting for more.

The decision by the commission was a good first step, and fortunately it’s an interim one because not all aged carers were included in this increase.

Stage two of the case will look at expanding the pay rise to other aged care professions like leisure

& lifestyle, admin, cooks, cleaners, and laundry and maintenance workers – and we’re pushing them to up it to 25%, for everyone.

We’re campaigning hard for these changes to become a reality – because it’s what’s right and fair for the people that look after our loved ones.

There’s no such thing as unskilled work, and as a union that represents caring professions, we know that workers have been left without the recognition and support they deserve for a long time. This needs to change.

We’re confident that because we’ve won once, we have the potential to do it again and force the commission to include everyone in their final decision. But we can’t do it alone.

Now is the time for everyone to get on board and support all aged care workers to get a pay rise. Because massive wins like this only happen when workers join HACSU and stand united, passionate and strong.

If you want to add your voice to our case for a pay rise for every aged care worker, please get in touch with us on 1300 880 032 or assist@hacsu.org.au

Let’s change aged care together!

CALVARY HOSPITALS NON NURSES AGREEMENT: HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Recently, theatre & CSD workers, cleaners, food services, physios and admin staff at Calvary had their new agreement registered at the Fair Work Commission.

It was a long haul to get here, and workers had to drag Calvary kicking and screaming to the bargaining table to have their voices heard.

It was a tough campaign, and Calvary played a dirty game – unfortunately this meant that we couldn’t get everything we hoped for this time around. But regardless, we’re proud that workers made the monumental effort of getting Calvary to the table and making them listen to what they had to say.

One of the main issues for workers was getting the full amount of time they were forced to wait for their pay rise back paid – but sadly Calvary were too stubborn to move. But what we did win were still some powerful changes like:

A $50 per week increase or a 3% wage rise (whatever is higher) – with workers who get the $50 will actually seeing an increase closer 4-5%. We’d hoped for higher, but it’s much better than Calvary’s initial miserly 2.5% offer.

Through their action they also won:

• Protection of penalty rates when doing training

• Proper recognition of the certificates held by workers in CSD and Theatre

• More pay points for operational workers

• Increases to family and domestic violence leave

Bargaining with any employer is hard – but workers at Calvary made their bosses see that they’re willing to stick together and willing to call it out when something isn’t right.

We’re proud of every worker that spoke up, voted and had their say – and we know that next time we bargain we’ll be able to build even more momentum together and make even bigger change.

If you’re a worker at Calvary and you’ve got questions about your new agreement, then please make sure you get in touch with us so we can help you through it.

Our annual Thank You for Working in Aged Care Week was from 3 – 9 September this year.

As the union for aged care workers, we want to thank each and every one of you for making a huge difference in the lives of our older loved ones. Your compassion, care and dedication do not go unnoticed.

We know that real thanks means

real change. This year as we celebrate the hard work of aged care workers, we’re calling for:

• The 15% interim wage increase to be expanded and given to ALL aged care workers

• ALL aged care workers to receive the full 25% wage increase

Your support counts, and together, we can make a difference!

$600 golden ticket winner: Jess Moir from Respect Derwent Views

$300 silver ticket winner: Lumen Hart from Calvary Riverside Views

$150 bronze ticket winner:

Tracey Heazlewood from Respect Coroneagh Park

$50 winners:

Annie Heazlewood from Wynyard Care Centre

Prue Button from OneCare Umina Park

Carol Johnson from OneCare The Manor

Amit Thapa from May Shaw Aminya

Trish Rogers from Queen Vicoria Care

Maria Serrano from SCC Rosary Gardens

Bindu Adhikari from SCC Sandown

Tammy Blackwell from Corumbene Home Care

Barry Balcombe from May Shaw Swansea

St Helen’s Private Hospital: we’re still fighting for better mental health services

Back in May HACSU held a joint rally with concerned community members and other unions about the impending closure of St Helen’s Private Hospital in Hobart. Workers, patients and the public turned up in the masses, protesting outside of the Premier’s office to send a strong message: save our mental health and mother and baby services. Since then, the government and their private health operating cronies, Healthscope, have allowed the facility to close – leaving workers redeployed or redundant, and patients without access to the important specialty mental health services they need.

St Helens was a respite for many in the community, and they provided much needed services which aren’t readily available in the public health system.

We’re continuing to call on the government, who knew about Healthscope’s withdrawal from St Helen’s months before workers or patients, to take over the management of St Helens and fund it properly in the public health

system as a matter of urgency.

So far, they’ve announced that two beds will be allocated to the specialised mother and baby unit – but they’ve been silent on other critical mental health services, leaving Tasmanians in the lurch.

HACSU members know better than anyone that we need a properly funded, adequately resourced and publicly accessible mental health system in place – not tomorrow, not in months, but right now.

St Helens undoubtedly saved lives – and patients not having access to these services anymore is a worrying decline in the state of our mental health care in Tasmania. We’re still fighting and we’re not going to let the government, or the new health minister put their heads in the sand and make this go away.

If you’re keen to get involved in our community campaign for better mental health services for all Tasmanians then please make sure you get in touch with us to see how you can get active.

YOUR PRIVACY AT WORK MATTERS

We’ve heard from a number of disability workers across the state who say they’re concerned about their rights to privacy at work.

Whether it’s surveillance cameras at work, the way your personal information is stored or your right to privacy when it comes to personal belief or union affiliation, we’ve represented members through it all. Every worker deserves to feel comfortable at work and it’s important that your privacy is a part of that.

Aside from you being comfortable, it’s also your employer’s legal obligation to make sure that you’re protected under the 1988 Federal Privacy Act and the 2004 Tasmanian Personal Information Act. Most workplaces will also have a company policy on privacy that you should be informed of as a part of your induction on the job.

The Tasmanian Personal Information Act says that personal information about employees, former employees or people who apply for a job needs to be kept secure, including:

• Name

• Residential or postal address

• Date of birth

• Gender

• Termination of employment and the reasons why

• Terms or conditions of employment

• Your performance at work

• Your hours of work

• How much you get paid

• Your union or professional affiliation

• Information about how much leave you have Recently, we heard from workers at a large disability employer that their information like home addresses, phone numbers, and shift start and finish times were accessible on their rostering system to everyone in the organisation. This creates an obvious privacy breach, with anyone being able to access personal information that could potentially be used in harmful ways.

HACSU was able to get this issue resolved as soon

as it was bought to our attention because it is clearly a breach of workers’ rights under the act. The result was that the organisation was able to restrict access on their system and forced to apologise to affected workers.

Another issue that we run into a lot in the disability space is how security cameras are utilised by management. Whilst cameras can be a really good way to protect clients and property, it’s not okay for bosses to intimidate workers or listen in on them without their consent or knowledge – unless there’s a substantiated reason to view footage.

We’ve also heard concerns from workers at a few different residential homes recently that cameras were being used to “spy” on workers or that they were being used in place of adequate training and supervision.

Security cameras can be helpful – but they should never be used to “keep an eye” on your interactions with clients or co-workers, especially without your knowledge.

Thanks to workers speaking up, we’ve been able to get assurances from managers about their camera policy and make sure that camera footage is being accessed appropriately and only when necessary. It’s okay to have cameras in place – but they need to be used for the safety of clients and staff, not as spyware.

If you’re worried about any your privacy at work, please make sure you give us a call on HACSUassist, we’re here to help!

Workplace health and safety representatives can play a major role in organising their workplaces and creating change – but often as workers we don’t always know a whole lot about them.

Health and safety are some of the most important issues you can encounter in your working life, and we can’t leave something as important as this solely up to the bosses.

This is where your HSR comes in and helps empower you to have a say.

A health and safety representative is a worker, elected by their colleagues, that helps watch your back when it comes to potential safety issues.

Ideally, a HSR should only represent their work group – for example a nurse shouldn’t be representing an ambulance officer even if they both technically work for the Department of Health, because their work groups will have very different and individual challenges when it comes to WHS.

It’s really about representation from someone who knows what you go through and is willing to speak up on the side of workers, not bosses.

An elected HSR is someone that is protected by the Workplace Health and Safety act, and has special rights to make sure your workplace is compliant with it, like:

• Being able to represent workers in WHS matters

• Monitoring actions taken by the person conducting a business undertaking (PCBU)

• Investigate safety complaints

• Inquire into, and inspect anything that appears to be a risk

• Be present in an interview

• Request the establish of a WHS committee

• Direct work to cease (under some conditions)

• Request the assistance of any person in WHS matters (including their union organiser)

• Issue a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN), requiring the PCBU to take steps to fix safety issues

• Protection from liability (under some circumstances)

THE POWER OF WORKPLACE HSRS

In return the PCBU, or the ‘officer of the PCBU’ (manager or boss) is required to allow HSRs:

• To utilise their powers

• Paid leave to attend HSR training of your choice

• Provide resources, facilities and assistance to you

• Allow access to the person assisting you (your union)

• Time off, with pay, to perform your role

Workplace health and safety is union business – and it’s something we have a long history of standing up for and protecting.

HSRs are just one more tool in our kit to be able to make sure that you’re safe at work –and they hold a lot of power under the WHS legislation.

If you’re keen to learn more about what HSRs do, or if you’d like to become one in your workplace make sure you get in touch with your organiser to find out more information!

Everyone deserves to be safe at work.

If you’re keen to learn more about what HSRs do, or if you’d like to become one in your workplace make sure you get in touch with your organiser to find out more information!

Everyone deserves to be safe at work.

Unions Tasmania is pleased to host Health and Safety Representative (HSR) Conferences as part of this year’s WorkSafe Month. Entry is FREE. More info here: https://fb.me/e/4SUPHlUAA

Your HACSU workplace delegate: Elizabeth Dominy

Elizabeth Dominy, or Liz for short, is a Ward Clerk at the Launceston General Hospital. She’s been a HACSU member for around 12 years and worked as a delegate for 5 of those.

Previously before working at the LGH, she worked in the private sector in customer service, admin and sales.

But for the majority of her career, she’s been at the LGH, working there for 16 years all up in different positions.

“I started working as a ward clerk in March 2022 on medical and surgical wards, having previously worked in Medical Records for 11 years. I felt I needed to use the skills I had gained in Medical Records and my love of customer service.”

“I have worked at the Launceston General Hospital for 16 years, across various departments and various admin positions.”

Her average day looks like answering phone calls from different departments and patients’ relatives, passing on information to nurses, admin work for the ward, discharging patients, “some days it feels like herding cats, chasing after nurses!”

She says that her proudest achievements as a delegate have been “in 2017 I spoke at a combined union rally, with teachers, nurses, firies, police, in the gardens of the LGH, for all public service staff to gain a pay rise. The slogan was “Scrap the Cap”. It was the scariest thing I have ever done (besides jumping out of a plane), there were about 1500 people, with media also in attendance. We did in fact scrap the cap and were awarded a 3% pay rise.”

Another favourite moment being a delegate she says was in 2018, “I was selected to attend the annual Anna Stewart Program. This was a weeklong seminar in Hobart with other likeminded female union delegates from across the state and different working backgrounds

and various unions, learning about how to be an effective delegate and also understand how unions work.”

“We had the opportunity of hearing from various Union leaders, including Jess Munday, secretary for Unions Tasmania. Jess Munday is such an inspiration to all of us, and such a strong leader and voice for union members across Tasmania.

We also took some action and walked the streets of Hobart, wobble boarding and chanting.”

This year Liz again stood up and spoke in front of the media for support workers, Ward Clerks and Hospital Aides who have their jobs federally funded for ‘COVID positions’. Over time, it’s become clear that these positions have become integral to the functioning of the hospital, and that we need these staff beyond COVID times –but as it stands we have no real commitment that these roles will continue to be funded.

As a result of her actions support staff were granted an extension on their contracts till 30

September – but now she says “we’re still waiting on an outcome from the negotiations between the government as to whether these positions are to be permanently funded – with 30 September fast approaching, we’ll be taking more action. “

Outside of work, Liz says she’s been renovating her home for the past 3 years. “I have learnt a lot about myself, and now know that I can achieve anything I put my mind to”.

“It is an ongoing project, I still have a lot of work to do around the house, I don’t think I will ever finish.”

She also has a 6-year-old Chocolate Labrador, named Loki, that she hangs out with outside of work.

Liz says her favourite band is Bon Jovi, “I have seen them 6 times, I even travelled to Spain for a Bon Jovi cruise, where I met Jon Bon Jovi. It was the best 10 seconds of my life!”

Elizabeth Dominy AND upport workers at the LGH taking a stand for their jobs in May 2023

Stand up, fight back: workers win together in the public sector

HACSU members have been running some massive campaigns in the public sector lately – and through their collective actions they’ve been winning them and making change.

Public sector workers provide vital services to our communities, whether it be in child safety, as cleaners, mental health workers, cooks, nurses, pharmacists, ambos, admin, physio, radiography, or medical orderlies. We’re proud to be the union for every worker in our public sector – because you’re all valuable, and you all matter.

When we come together and support each other as public sector workers we’re more powerful than when we’re alone – and that’s why we’re so good at making change.

After all, there’s 10,000 of us across the state, fighting day-in and day-out to fix our health system, fix our public services and improve the lives of our members and the people we support. Together, we have a powerful voice.

NWRH Kitchen floors

Recently, HACSU members in Food Services at the North West Regional Hospital scored a massive health and safety win, forcing their management to completely fix the floors in the kitchen and start from scratch.

The floors were dangerous, and there’d been many trips, falls and near misses over the last few years thanks to management’s refusal to properly fix their mess.

Management had re-gritted the floors endlessly to no avail, even though workers had been telling them for years that it didn’t work, was messy, and led to even worse safety issues in the end.

Food Services workers were fed up, and they stood together and resolved to take industrial action, including turning off the registers in the canteen and refusing to take money, all the way up to planning escalating stop work actions if the Department still refused to listen.

But in less than 24 hours after they kicked off action, management came back to us with their tail between their legs and confirmed in writing that a safe “red floor” would begin being laid the following week.

This is a massive win to make sure that management are accountable – not just for the promises they make, but for workers’ safety.

It was our hard-working delegates and members who made this happen – and they proved that when we stick together, we can win. Wins like these are why it’s so important to be union and make sure your voice is heard at work.

NWRH kitchen staff passed a resolution committing to take industrial action over the management’s failure to meet their legal safety requirements

Medical orderlies and attendants

Medical orderlies and attendants do dangerous work every day to keep our hospitals safe for patients, fellow workers, and our community in responding to code blacks – and all of their work is absolutely essential in keeping our hospitals running day-to-day.

It’s been clear for a long time that they deserve proper recognition – and it’s been well beyond a doubt since the serious stabbing incident at the NWRH on Easter Sunday.

We met with the Premier and other Health managers to say enough is enough, but all the bigwigs involved seemed happy to drag their feet until it got to the point where union members knew we would need to take action to get results.

On Tuesday 1 August, HACSU members around the state prepared to launch into industrial action at midday, commencing bans like afterhours plasters, running pathology items, transfer of patients to private hospitals, and bans on collection and disposal of certain types of medical waste.

Once they heard about our action, and the support from the community, the Department were forced into a last-minute scramble and finally offered orderlies and attendants the reclassification they deserve – with less than 60 minutes left on the clock before our action was due to kick off.

Now, attendants and medical orderlies have won a pay rise of between $2000–$5000 for all attendants and

medical orderlies at the NWRH, LGH and RHH. They’ve also won ongoing pay rises above the usual increases of more than $1000 a year for the next three years. (Attendants at the MCH are already classified at this higher level). And they’ve won the recognition they deserve.

These kinds of wins, whether they be for safety, respect or better pay, prove that when we’re union and we take action we can make real change.

These are just two wins members have gotten from sticking together, but the examples of what we can achieve are endless – together we have a world to win.

If something at work is worrying you, or you need more information, please make sure you get in touch with us via HACSUassist and talk to your colleagues about it too – we’ll back you in.

Medical orderlies at the RHH celebrating the win

Dayna French

Your HACSU workplace delegate

Dayna French is a HACSU delegate and Food Services Assistant at the North West Regional Hospital, where she’s worked for 26 years. Currently she’s based in the cafeteria, and she says she “enjoys the food preparation and customer service” in her role, with another highlight being “working with some amazing colleagues.”

She says she’s “been member for 15 years at a guess” after she was approached by her sister Odie, who’s a HACSU organiser to become a delegate.

“As a union kitchen we’ve done a lot over the years – and most recently we got a new floor.”

Brendan says the union movement has always been close to his heart, in the past he was a member and delegate for the Building Workers’ Industrial Union (BWUI) and for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). His interest in unionism, he says, was rekindled six or so years ago when he became a HACSU member.

Brendan Etches

Brendan Etches is a HACSU delegate and Extended Care Assistant (ECA) at Bishop Davies Court.

His average working day is an afternoon shift, where he usually works with a partner assisting older people who require extra help with their daily activities and living.

He’s worked as an ECA for ten years, and before this he worked on building sites and as a fisherman.

He became a delegate a little under a year ago, and he hopes to continue to promote the advantages of being a union member to the 50% of his workplace who were born in another country. He also says he’s pushing for more staff to be put on the floor.

Brendan is passionate about the community services, and says that “sadly, many people in our society do not acknowledge the importance and professionalism of the community sector.”

“In Australia we have a wide range of human services that help ensure the wellbeing of our society. Our standard of living is one of

This was after a long slog by workers to get the Department to finally fix an unsafe kitchen floor, after many trips, slips and near misses. But workers didn’t give up – and recently it was completely refloored after their long campaign where kitchen workers committed to take escalating industrial action.

Dayna says that her in the future her main goals are “for our workplace to have more staff and a better team environment.”

When she’s not at work she enjoys weekends at the shack watching Collingwood play, but she says her most loved thing is “spending time with family”.

the highest in the world and it is this safety net of socialist based policies like Medicare, the pension and Centrelink that underpin our enviable society.”

“Many people take the community sector for granted and these people are often manipulated by conservatives and the media to support views that are contradictory to their own interests.” He says he’s proud to be union, because “the union movement have always campaigned to establish vital services like Medicare and the NDIS.”

“As a union member, I am proud to continue the struggle to maintain what we have and to promote and encourage new social benefits for future Australians.”

Outside of work, his favourite thing to do is travel with his wife. He says his favourite song is Here Comes The Sun by George Harrison, film Apocalypse Now and novel 1984 by George Orwell.

Evangeline Knowles

Evangeline Knowles is a new HACSU delegate and an extended care assistant at Southern Cross Care, Mt Esk where she’s worked for three years.

She says that her average working day is often “hectic, tiring and short staffed a lot of the time. It’s rewarding but challenging mostly because of the workload”

Before she worked in aged care, she was a stay-at-home mum with casual work in cleaning, take away shops, farming and seasonal work in her younger years.

Evangeline says she became a delegate to “make sure that my work mates can come to someone about issues at work.”

She says that her biggest thing she wants to achieve as a delegate is “for the residents to be recognised based on their needs – not heads or beds” and to fix ongoing staffing issues. “It’s really important for us to be able to give the residents what they deserve.”

Outside of work her favourite things to do are watch her kids play sport and camping, and her favourite movie is the Blind Side.

CALVARY AGED CARE: FROM BAD TO WORSE

You’ve probably already heard that Calvary have been dragging their feet on their aged care agreement and leaving workers in the lurch.

We’ve told them it’s time to get on with the bargain, and that we refuse to let them steal workers’ conditions and much needed pay rise.

They’ve told us they’ll “have a look” at what they can do – but we’re not holding out any hope that they’ll do the right thing, and workers have told us that they’ll do all they can to make sure they get the respect they deserve.

Now to add insult to injury, they’ve been proposing a disastrous model of care at their Sandhill and Riverside Views facilities – which reduces laundry and leisure & lifestyle workers hours and attempts to offload some of this responsibility to care workers.

Aged care is a hectic and fast paced environment –and cutting these additional support staff who do vital work is not only unfair to workers who lose out on pay, but to care staff and residents too.

We’re strongly advocating that Calvary overturn this bad decision, and we’ll keep fighting for staff and

residents to get the conditions they deserve.

We know that other aged care providers have tried to go down this path, and it’s ended disastrously for them. Recently, even Southern Cross Care announced that they’ll be moving away from their own ‘household’ model of care which heralded similar cuts to workers and jeopardised residents’ care.

HACSU members have told us they’ll be forced to get second jobs, or even consider leaving the industry all together if employers continue to treat them this way – and it’s not good enough.

Aged carers do important work every day, and large providers need to start putting workers and residents above their own corporate profit margins – because a love of the job doesn’t pay the bills.

It’s time to change aged care and continue to fight for workers and residents’ to be given the respect they deserve.

If you’re affected by these changes, or you’re worried something similar is happening in your workplace, we’re here to help – you can get in touch with us via HACSUassist on 1300 880 032. We’re the biggest union for aged care, and we’ll always fight for vital aged care workers.

PUBLIC SECTOR NURSES: WE NEED MORE - MORE MONEY, MORE DETAILS

We’ve been bargaining for a replacement public sector nursing agreement for a while now, and disappointingly the government still seem content to drag their feet.

We’ve heard the government’s first proposed offer, but after we got in touch with them to let them know that we need some more information earlier this month – they’ve completely blanked us.

What we do know is that the wage offer for the first year looks okay, but that’s about where it ends.

As it stands nurses currently only get paid 175% on Sundays – even though every other worker in the public health system gets 200% (as they should). This is a glaring oversight by the government – and we’re keen to bring this penalty back into line with the rest of the health service.

But at the moment, all it seems like the government want to do is sit on their hands.

There are also some other issues around the multidisciplinary allowance that we need to look at to make things fairer – because you do important work for our community, and you deserve to be compensated fairly for it.

For mental health nurses, there’s also the issue of locking in 12-hour shifts and making sure that the government are hearing your voice in this process.

Nurses have told us loud and clear that they’re ready and willing to take industrial action if there’s still no movement on the offer to address these critical issues – and we know it’s not something they take lightly.

The government negotiators have told us that the current wage offer attempts to align with the national

average, but it’s important to remember that the cost of living in Tasmania is high and inflation is still at unprecedented levels.

We’re pushing for the government to consider all of these factors and ensure their offer is able to retain and recruit essential nursing staff for our health system. Otherwise, it’s just not good enough.

What we have agreed on so far is:

• Consolidating the nursing agreements into one document, with the exception of the midwifery agreement, which will remain separate due to its specific arrangements

• The need to expand the scholarships offered and talked about how the market allowance could be applied similarly to provisions within the Health and Human Services Award to attract staff for vacant positions

• Feedback from the five working groups (Professional Development, Classifications, Rostering, WH&S, and HR) also gained some success, especially around the implementation of the 10-point plan to end violence and aggression, which we believe should be a no-brainer

But if the government continues to ignore their nursing and midwifery workers, then we’ll need to meet and talk more about what further action we can take to force them to hear us – because you all deserve a lot better than this shambolic proposal.

If you’re a nurse, make sure you keep an eye out for us at your work soon and come and have a chat.

Together we can have a powerful voice and make the government listen.

UWU FARM WORKERS: HOW COLLECTIVE ACTION GETS RESULTS

United Workers Union (UWU) farm workers across Australia have been taking action against farming conglomerates for better pay and conditions, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in the industry for decades.

Hussey & Co, who provide baby salad to Coles and Aldi, have been threatening and intimidating union members involved in the strike –and workers say that the disrespect has been happening for a long time before this.

These farm workers are the people who help us get fed and nourished, and they work all hours in the freezing cold just to keep the supermarket shelves stocked. Now, they say it’s time they were respected for their hard work.

UWU have also exposed further bullying and threats from management in their federal court case against the farming giant. With production managers threatening their largely migrant workforce of Indonesian and Malaysian workers before the strike and telling them (illegally) that they’d no longer have a job, and the company could freeze their employment indefinitely.

This all comes after Hussey have been offering workers a “wage increase” in negotiations, which sees them a mere 6 cents better off than the award, and amid Hussey’s continued reliance on labour hire workers who they pay as little as $12 an hour.

Workers took to the streets in June to finally have their voice heard and show Hussey what they thought of their deal, with 60 workers blocking roads, halting production and brandishing signs that said, “baby lettuce, not baby wages” and “I’m not your Hussey”.

It’s the largest strike of its kind in years, and it’s kicked off a movement of organised farm workers on the ground who are still rallying to be paid fairly and treated with respect at work – and the campaign isn’t over yet.

While we’re still hearing the usual lines from big businesses like Hussey to workers and the media about how asking for basic fairness is “disruptive” and “aggressive” HACSU members know that the best way to see results from bosses, or governments, is to organise and take action.

No worker wants to go on strike, and most of the time it means we’ve worn through a long list of options beforehand trying to negotiate with the bosses – yet workers are the ones who are too often demonised by big businesses and government departments when bosses are the ones who create hostility to union members.

What they do have right is that sometimes strikes can be disruptive, and sometimes they can even be perceived as aggressive, but it’s not workers’ fault. Bosses can easily stop strikes from ever happening in the first place by listening to their workers and treating them with respect. HACSU members have seen firsthand how stop-works and collective action (or even the threat of it) can start to make their voices heard.

As one group of workers who are essential in our communities and not always given the respect we deserve, we send our solidarity to UWU farm workers who are fighting back to change things at work.

KILL A WORKER, PAY A FINE?

HOW INDUSTRIAL MANSLAUGHTER LAWS WILL FINALLY BRING JUSTICE TO FALLEN WORKERS

*Some readers may find this article distressing, if this brings up any difficult emotions for you, please make sure you contact Lifeline for free emergency counselling on 13 11 14*

Industrial manslaughter is one of the deadliest killers of Tasmanian workers – yet as it stands, bosses who are negligible in creating unsafe work environments are unable to be prosecuted through our current industrial laws.

What’s most shocking is that the worst bosses might expect to receive is a slap on the wrist or a small fine.

Across the rest of Australia, most states and territories have already enacted industrial manslaughter laws. This means that if a boss kills a worker through unsafe or dangerous work conditions they can be properly investigated, charges can be laid (with a maximum penalty of up to 25 years) and fines can be sought that start in the millions.

Everyone deserves to go to work knowing that they’ll return home safe – and so do their families and loved ones. Sadly, this isn’t the reality for all of us. This needs to change.

Now, we’re calling on the Tasmanian Government and the Workplace Health and Safety Minister, Elise Archer, to get on with implementing these life-saving laws in Tassie – before another worker is lost.

As health and community service workers it’s often forgotten that we work in imminently dangerous industries.

Many of us are in direct contact with vulnerable patients, clients or community members that have challenging, and sometimes violent, behaviours that can injure us physically and mentally. Sadly, the statistics tell us that as health and community workers we’re more likely to have encountered struggles with mental health over our working life.

We know that workplace health and safety is often about the physical – which is always important. But your mental health is just as pressing, too.

In the last decade alone, we’ve lost 87 workers in Tasmania to work-related fatalities – these are workers whose deaths were absolutely preventable, and they still deserve to be here with their loved ones.

We also know that this figure would likely be higher if all work-related deaths like ongoing injuries and suicide were included in the official statistics that are publicly recorded.

Workplace ‘accidents’ are never accidents – because not having safe workplaces is a deliberate choice.

We won’t stop standing up for workers and calling on bosses to be accountable for workers’ safety until the industrial manslaughter figures are at zero.

If you’re interested in joining our campaign to bring industrial manslaughter laws to Tasmania, please make sure you sign Unions Tasmania’s petition here and get in touch with us about how you can get involved.

Your HACSU workplace delegate: Sharon Grundy

Union (CPSU), and now I’ve become a delegate at my workplace because I have always had a passion about employee rights, being listened to and being heard.”

“I became a delegate after our last EBA because our voice was not heard. Now, I’ve been trying to negotiate with management outside of the EBA to have support professionals listened to. This is going slow, but it is in progress, and I hope at the end of it our voices will be heard.”

“I am hoping that we have a voice that is listened to. Not just for support professionals, but for the participants we support.”

Sharon Grundy is a HACSU delegate, working at Possability Day Service as a Senior Support Professional.

On arrival before Support Professionals get in, Sharon checks to see if they have staff absent on the day and if so, rearrange timetables for programs. Other parts of her job include ensuring paperwork for the day is available, greeting support workers and participants, supporting workers with any issues that arise during the day, covering programs if required and catching up with emails and work-related paperwork for the day between phone calls, queries, meetings, staff and participants.

She’s worked at Oak/Possability for nearly nine years, but before starting in the disability industry she worked for 30 years across multiple businesses in finance and accounting.

Sharon is a proud mum of 2 boys (41 and 31) and a daughter in law, and grandma to two grandkids (17 and 15). Her youngest has an intellectual disability, and this is part of what has made her so passionate about working in the industry.

She’s been a HACSU member since starting at Possability, and recently became a delegate for HACSU. Sharon says that “in all my working career I’ve been a union member. I have previously been a delegate for the Community and Public Sector

When she’s at home she likes knitting and crochet or any craft, and she says she’s sometimes called a “craft collector instead of doer”. She also likes to go out and about on a weekend, “trying different eating/drinking establishments”.

She’s a big fan of rock music, with Queen being her favourite, and Rocky Horror is her favourite film.

“What I am passionate about is the disability sector. The need for organisations and NDIA to start listening to their participants. They have a voice. They need to be asked how they want to be supported and how they want to live, they can answer.”

“It may take a while but with the right questions and understanding, an answer can be given. Support professionals understand the needs and wants of the people they support, but they are never asked by management or NDIS for input.”

Sharon says that “being from an administrative background I understand we need management and administrative professionals, but if you don’t listen or support staff or participants you will not have a business.”

“Management and NDIA need to stop making assumptions about what they think is right for a participant without even discussing it with them. It is supposed to be about choice. It is also the level of understanding and education needed to make the choice, which can be lengthy and not a 5-second or 5-minute answer. Listen and time is the answer.”

Your HACSU workplace delegate: Sarah Stone

She’s been a cleaner for almost 20 years, working at the RHH for eight of those. In school Sarah studied hospitality and worked in different cafes, then became a mum and started cleaning because it was flexible around school hours.

Sarah’s been a HACSU member for around 5 years, and then became a delegate earlier this year. She says “I want to try and make the workplace better for everyone. I love having a chat to other work colleagues and finding out their issues.”

“As a new delegate I haven’t done a lot yet, however I did get out on Argyle Street with other HACSU members when we were trying to achieve a well-deserved pay rise for the PSUWA – which we won, and I really enjoyed.”

“I also recently attended the Anna Stewart Memorial Project which was a very informative and fun week with so many highlights, my favourite days were when we went to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission and Parliament House.

I would like to attend other training sessions to become a competent delegate and hopefully help solve workplace issues.”

Sarah Stone is a HACSU delegate and Environmental Services Officer at the RHH. She works in the Emergency Department, keeping our public hospital clean for workers and patients.

Her working day begins at 6am, and it’s usually a hectic morning doing rubbish, mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms until 10am. At 10 she does the “best part of the day”, morning tea break, and she says when she gets back from break she starts all over again and picks up a few other jobs around the ED.

In an average day she averages 18,000 steps a day, finishing at 1.30pm, and usually working 7.6 hr shifts 10 days a fortnight.

She says some of her biggest hopes for the future in her workplace is to see “people safe and happy at work.”

When she’s not at work she enjoys all things active – she plays volleyball and does boxing and barre classes at the burn theory gym.

“I also do dancing and like roller skating when I find the time. I like to participate in team activities and have completed the point to pinnacle with team ED for the last two years.”

Her favourite genre is horror and Halloween is her favourite movie and Stephen King her favourite author.