Respect have traded on being a nice guy employer for quite a while now - but now they have begun their transition to the dark side.
We knew things were looking grim when they brought in high-priced Melbourne lawyers famous for cutting the toes of employees, and so it has transpired. They have now presented a draft Agreement that proposes to:
• Prevent part-time employees having security and certainty regarding when they will work
• Not apply wage increases to work value funding increases (instead they say wage increases will be at their ‘discretion’)
• Do away with a penalty for late payment of wages (this will allow them to pay you late without any repercussion)
• Do away with the penalty if they provide you less than 7 days’ notice of a change of roster (this removes the disincentive preventing them from changing your rosters without adequate notice)
• Remove entitlements to specific amounts of uniform
• Do away with handover payments
• Remove licence reimbursement
• For Masonic North employees, reduce the entitlement to personal leave days that may be taken without evidence
• For Masonic South employees, reduce the penalty rate for work on a public holiday from 250% to 200%
• Capping redundancy for non-nurses but not nurses
All this without even providing a wage offer.
Needless to say, they have not agreed to nearly all your claims - including indicating they will not agree to do anything to meaningfully address your workload issues. We had sought that you would be paid a penalty payment when working short, but they don’t agree that those workers should be compensated for the extra work. Whilst the CEO was initially sympathetic, the bean counters seemed to get to him and the claim was denied.
There is a way to fight back though, and that is to become active, engaged and organised. We’ll be fighting like tigers for you in the bargaining room, but we need you behind us. Where dis-Respect proposes to reduce your existing entitlements, we need you to push as hard as you can to demand their retention. We’ll be out and about to talk to you about dis-Respect’s plans for cuts.
In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch with any concerns or questions by calling HACSUassist on 1300 880 032 or email: [email protected]