Mountain Views
Mail Covering the foothills of the Yarra Ranges & Murrindindi Shires
10 Tuesday, 26 April, 2016
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Nurses seek action By KATH GANNAWAY A WEEK’S extra leave is at the heart of an impasse between Yarra Ranges Council and their Maternal and Child Health and Immunisation Nurses. Decked out in protest T-shirts, nurses from around the shire held a stopwork meeting on Wednesday, 20 April, outside the Council offices in Lilydale. Council has around 40 nurses on their payroll. What do they want? According to their placards, they want Yarra Ranges Council “ ... to get with the times”. “Bring in a Modern Nursing Agreement”, was the message they say will bring them into line with their colleagues. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) says it tabled the minimum (modern) award conditions as part of a members’ log of claims for a new enterprise agreement in September when the nurses’ existing enterprise agreement came up for renewal. The Nurses Local Government Award 2015 was upheld by the Fair Work Commissioner last year as being the minimum conditions in local government. ANMF Industrial Officer, Barry Megennis, said they were advised in February this year that that Council management had rejected the inclusion of the award conditions on the basis it would not be equitable with other Council employees - whose annual leave entitlement is four weeks. Mr Megennis told the Mail the Council’s refusal of minimum award conditions puts them below par in terms of conditions applying to all other registered nurses and midwives in Victoria. The implications of this, he said, were that the Council’s ability to secure and keep skilled nurses will be eroded. “By choosing a different route than the one recommended by Fair Work, Yarra Ranges Council has distanced themselves from the improved work-
Yarra Ranges parents came out in support of the nurses, saying they go beyond the call of duty and deserve the best conditions. 153325 Picture: KATH GANNAWAY ing conditions recently accepted by other councils across Victoria,” Mr Megennis said. Yarra Ranges Council however says they value their nurses, but four weeks annual leave is appropriate when they work ordinary hours and are not required to do shift work. Director Corporate Services, Troy Edwards, in response to questions put to the Council by the Mail, rejected the suggestion that nurses are worse off under the Council’s enterprise agree-
ment than they would be under the Nurses Modern Award. “It is disingenuous to suggest our nurses are on minimal conditons,” Mr Edwards said. “Our nurses are already paid significantly more than what is contained in the Modern Award.” He said nurses, as are other employees, can purchase leave in addition to their entitled four weeks. “A number of nurses already use this entitlement to receive five weeks
leave, while still being paid significantly above the minimum salary level,” he said. Mr Edwards said Council was not legally bound to attach a Modern Award to the Enterprise Agreement, however they are required to ensure their nurses are no worse off. “We are required to use the appropriate Modern Awards for the ‘Better Off Overall Test’ that will be conducted when the new Enterprise Agreement is approved by the Fair Work Commis-
sion,” he said. The ANMF says however, that is not a given. “Yarra Ranges Council management believe their current offer will give better conditions for the nurses,” Mr Megennis, said. He said the nurses, and the ANMF, strongly disagree. Whilst not talking to the media, the nurses indicated they would not rule out further industrial action while the Council maintains its stand.
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