Published Apr 8, 2006
froghair
130 Posts
with all the things that you read in the paper of late does anyone understand how it will effect nurses? and when exactly it will come into play for nurses?
for example could the DON call me in tomorow and say there no longer paying permanant night duty allowances and weekend penalty rates? if this is the case being that i work full time night duty and work almost every weekend, i could see my pay drop by around $700 a fortnight.
if this is what could happen..... i would be giving up my night duty position and i wont be working weekends...... at the very least i would leave the rural hospital i work at to work in a bigger town to leaving nursing all togeather. i cant see how the government can think these changes will make things better. i suppose it doesnt really effect them like its not like there having to work weekends, public holidays and night duty. man id love to smack these idiots about the head:angryfire
talaxandra
3,037 Posts
It depends who you ask.
According to the federal government, nobody will lose anything, but we will now have increased flexibility to arrange conditions to suit us. For example, you can opt to have up tot two weeks of annual leave paid out, rather than taking the leave. And a workplace might decide to trade (or bargain) current conditions like public holidays, rest breaks (meal breaks and miminum time between shifts), leave loading, ahift and overtime laoding, penalty rates, and allowances, for other things. What they would be I have no idea.
If you ask the unions or the other parties, they say that access to these aspects of our award/agreement are potentially in jeopardy. For a start, bargaining power is eliminated if entering an AWA is a condition of employment. The AIRC is unquestioningly weaker, meaning less access to third party resolution of disputes. Workers ability to take industrial action is compromised, with 'essential services' now applying to anything which adversely affects the economy. Overtime is more contentious - maximum weekly hours are still set at 38, but can be averaged over a twelve month period, making determination of overtime difficult.
My opinion (as an individual, and not speaking as a union representative) is that few employers will make sweeping changes before the next election, allowing the Liberal party to say that the ALP, unions etc were overreacting. I also think that, at least in the short term, nurses in large metropolitan areas will not be significantly affected, because there already aren't enough of us to go around. In the long term, though, and for nurses in rural and remote areas with less access to centres competing for staff, there is huge potential for significant changes in parity of conditions.
In any case your employer can't change your conditions tomorrow - conditions are (at least in theory) going to change by a process of workplace negotiation.
Some websites with more information:
Your rights at work (ACTU site) http://www.yourrightsatwork.com.au/
Workplace Info (Australian Business Ltd & Australiasian Legal Information Institute) http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/GuestMenu.asp (home page)
http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/nocookie/alert/2005/051010679.htm (IR)
ALP http://www.alp.org.au/action/letter_unfairdismissal.php
I tried to find the Liberal party's IR page, but found the federal site (http://www.liberal.org.au/) hard to navigate.
Hope this helps.
stuff cashing in my annual leave..... i am so looking foward to my hols in october...... 8 weeks.....ohh yeah.
i would of thought that the government would be able to bring in changes quicker in metro areas compared to rural areas as in the country the work force tends to be older and my feeling is they'll just leave nursing or cut right back to just a few days a fortnight. all i hope is..... 2 things.....
1) the changes take a long time to come into play
2) i win tattslotto and open up a cigar lounge
im really hoping option 2 happens
goats'r'us, ASN, RN
307 Posts
stuff cashing in my annual leave..... i am so looking foward to my hols in october...... 8 weeks.....ohh yeah.i would of thought that the government would be able to bring in changes quicker in metro areas compared to rural areas as in the country the work force tends to be older and my feeling is they'll just leave nursing or cut right back to just a few days a fortnight. all i hope is..... 2 things.....1) the changes take a long time to come into play2) i win tattslotto and open up a cigar loungeim really hoping option 2 happens
if it does, can i come and open a bar next-door? i don't like the thought of losing award rates for weekends etc. nurses work some s**t hours, we deserve a little reward!
bethem
261 Posts
Apparently, from what I understand, the NSW nurses work under an award which is valid until 2008. Therefore the conditions won't change until then, in NSW at least.
Since there is such a shortage of nurses, though, do you think that the employers will be foolish enough to alter the conditions in such a way as to make nursing less enticing? Considering the givernment is the biggest employer of nurses, what changes do you think are likely?
OnTheShoales
12 Posts
I know on my ward at Royal Melbourne, the DON just posted a notice that "due to staff shortages, holiday availability will be curtailed after June, until further notice." My wife had her heart set on going to Europe in late September/early October (tail end of the tourist season; start of the white truffle season.) I'll have close to 150 holiday hours accrued by then.
In the old days, I might have felt the freedom to be militant and say "It's not my problem how you fill the roster. That's why you're the boss. I have earned this time, and I intend to take it as my right." Now, I don't know.
The balance of power has changed. Even though nurses are part of the skills shortage, and employers of more than 100 people cannot (supposedly) dismiss people on a whim, I'm reluctant to assert my rights. Will I have no effective choice except to accept pay in lieu of holidays (and thence pay the taxman extra) whilst I continue to slave away day after day? Makes me want to ring in a sickie. Except they're checking the stat decs even closer these days. Can I hear a "Bloody Howard!"?
Apparently, from what I understand, the NSW nurses work under an award which is valid until 2008. Therefore the conditions won't change until then, in NSW at least.Since there is such a shortage of nurses, though, do you think that the employers will be foolish enough to alter the conditions in such a way as to make nursing less enticing? Considering the givernment is the biggest employer of nurses, what changes do you think are likely?
Grace Oz
1,294 Posts
the balance of power has changed. even though nurses are part of the skills shortage, and employers of more than 100 people cannot (supposedly) dismiss people on a whim, i'm reluctant to assert my rights.
this is exactly what employers are banking on!
stand tall and be strong, whatever you do, never capitulate to the bullying tactics of employers. remember, they need you! you, as a nurse, will obtain a job elsewhere. please don't buy into the scare mongering. now, more than ever, nurses need to unite and stand together to ensure the entitlements and conditions etc which my generation of nurses fought so hard for, are not eroded or disposed of.
i wish you all the very best.
nambour51
84 Posts
OnTheShoales the notice apparently said 'holiday availability will be curtailed' you still have the right to apply for them - you may need to negotiate the time though. This situation happens from time to time and is not necessarily a result of the IR laws. In the department where I work only a certain number of staff are allowed to take holidays at any one time - sometimes it is simply a matter of being first in to request holidays and othertimes it might involve negotiation with others who have requested that time slot. Thing about what Grace has said about scaremongering. Be objective and don't become intimidated.
You have that right, Nambour. Holidays aren't forbidden, just harder to come by. I have put in a request. I don't like to be confronting, and with the new IR regime, I am less likely to push. The NUM is working on recruitment, so perhaps the holiday pressure will ease. And Johnny boy has made it so easy for us to sell our hours off back to the hospital in exchange for money! Slave away for only pay... Not happy, John!
joannep
439 Posts
Since there is such a shortage of nurses, though, do you think that the employers will be foolish enough to alter the conditions in such a way as to make nursing less enticing?
I have never seen any employer value nurses, they know there is a shortage, but they still view nurses as disposable/replaceable.
I think if they really valued us, they would pay us agency rates.
greatshakes
255 Posts
Speaking of agency, can any of you recommend good agencies to work within Australia, particularly Qld? If you have been working as an agency nurse are you made welcome by staff at general hospitals and do you get a decent orientation. Just interested. Thanks.
Yeah, I didn't call that well - the Industrial Relations Commission is hamstrung regarding decision making and ability to freely arbitrate, and has lost the power to decline employers' demands to halt industrial actions.
Thanks to the new IR laws, nurses in Victoria are being docked pay for putting on work bans. According to admin I won't be paid at all for the four night shifts I've just finished, three in charge.
And this week the state government's going federal in the hopes we're all individually fined. When's that election?!