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Nurses and midwives to vote on draft agreement – EB8 update

13 April 2012

Public sector nurses and midwives across Queensland will vote on a draft new collective workplace agreement, which provides a three per cent annual pay rise or $30 per week, whichever is the greater, and a raft of other improvements to allowances and working conditions over the next three years.

The Queensland Nurses Union’s (QNU) Council have agreed to send the draft agreement to ballot. An in-principle agreement was finalised at resumed negotiations, following the March 24 state election, between QNU and Queensland Health officials. This will now be converted into a formal workplace agreement document, which will then go to a ballot of Queensland Health nurses and midwives.

The previous workplace agreement—EB7—expired on March 31.

The in-principle agreement contains all the items agreed with the previous government prior to the election campaign with additional key issues now being agreed. These include:

• a three per cent or $30 per week, whichever is greater, annual pay rise

• a three per cent annual rise for most allowances

• to back-date the pay and allowance rises to 1 April 2012
  

• a $500 one-off addition to the base pay for all nurses and midwives, at the end of the agreement in 2015

• a three per cent annual rise for the Professional Development Allowance

• to increase, from 1 April 2013, the Sunday night-shift penalty rate from 20 to 25 per cent and

• an extra pay point for advanced practice nurses and midwives
  

• better workloads management and the requirement to display the required nurse-to-patient ratios in each ward or unit

• increased rural and remote incentive payments and the inclusion of Cooktown in the scheme

• greater support for Nurse/Midwifery Unit Managers, including an additional paypoint to be introduced for all Grade 7s in 2014

• advancement of the Enrolled Nurse Advanced Practice classification and

• improved overtime arrangements for senior nurses and midwives who have to work during natural disasters.
  

QNU secretary, Beth Mohle, said the overall package is now strong enough to go to a ballot of nurses and midwives.

“We will then find out what they think. However, I do believe it contains some important improvements that will keep Queensland nursing and midwifery strong. Queensland nurses and midwives now lead the nation in so many ways and these pay and allowance increases will keep them in a strong position nationally.

“The strengthening and simplification of the workload management process is also a big step forward and this will be a major priority for QNU members and officials as we implement this new agreement. To be frank, if there is going to be any difficulties with Queensland Health in the months ahead it will probably be in this area, because the QNU is determined to protect nurses, midwives and patients from unsafe workloads. We are committed to reducing any red tape and ensuring there are no long, drawn out processes in getting unsafe workloads addressed.

“There are also important initiatives in this agreement, which give Nurse/Midwifery Unit Managers greater authority at the ward or unit level. This is vital to improving staff morale and patient outcomes. These are the frontline clinical managers who know how things work and should work at the clinical interface. Providing them with greater assistance and greater decision-making authority makes perfect sense. This is another area we will continue to work on during the life of this new agreement.

“We have also secured some important improvements for rural and remote nurses and midwives. This work is not finished though. During the life of EB8 we will work with Queensland Health to develop agreed criteria for extending rural and remote incentives to other centres around the State, which are currently not included in the scheme.

“Finally, the QNU has made it clear to government representatives that the QNU does not accept the idea that Queensland’s finances are in a mess. That hoary old political chestnut is what every incoming government tries on nowadays. For example, the QNU is not convinced an $80 billion debt against an annual budget of nearly $50 billion and a Gross State Product of more than $250 billion is the problem the government is making it out to be.

“The QNU thanks the previous and current governments for the prompt finalisation of this draft agreement. We expect it to be implemented in full and will have a lot more to say if there is any attempt to undermine safe nursing and midwifery for cost-saving reasons,” Ms Mohle said.

Do the right thing - finalise the agreement!

2 March 2012

Our campaign to secure a suitable EB8 agreement with Queensland Health has entered a new phase.

As you are probably aware, the negotiating teams reached agreement on a number of key issues but we were unable to secure all that we needed before the government entered caretaker mode on 19 February.

The outstanding issues include enhancements to the career and classification structure for nurses and midwives at Grades 5, 6 and 7, a three per cent annual rise for the professional development allowance and improvements to the night duty penalty allowance.

We will provide more detail on the status of negotiations shortly, but we believe it is critical to include these items in a new agreement as they recognise and support the professionalism and skills development of nurses and midwives.

We feel this is particularly important given the deteriorating situation in Victoria and New South Wales where the working conditions of nurses and midwives are under attack from uncooperative and obstructive state governments.

Over the past decade and more of enterprise bargaining we have won significant entitlements for nurses and midwives in Queensland, and we cannot afford to see those entitlements eroded. For this purpose we must secure a new enterprise agreement which builds upon and protects our current provisions.

As part of our ongoing campaign for a fair and reasonable agreement we are now calling on both major political parties to honour the progress made with Queensland Health to date and to commit to finalising a
fair and reasonable EB8 agreement within one month of the 24 March election.

We want to make it clear to an incoming government that nurses and midwives do not want to renegotiate items that have already been agreed on and will not tolerate our enterprise agreement being put on the back burner in the wake of an election victory.

We also want the political leaders to commit to maintaining existing nurse and midwife entitlements and commit to working towards an improved health service by finalising a 2012 EB agreement that values, respects and empowers nurses and midwives.

Join the email campaign

We encourage you, and your colleagues, to join our mass email campaign by sending an automated email to Ms Bligh and Mr Newman calling on them to make a commitment to nurses and midwives.

We have created a page on our website where you can access and send this automated email—just visit www.qnu.org.au/do-the-right-thing

Your workplace EB8 Contact is also collecting signatures for a petition calling for the finalisation of an appropriate EB8 agreement.

QNU Health Forum

You can also get involved by sending in questions for the QNU Health Forum being held in Brisbane on March 8.

We have invited representatives from each of the major political parties to join us at a Q&A pre-election forum to answer your questions relating to nursing, midwifery, health and industrial relations. You can submit questions online at www.qnu.org.au/health-forum

Queensland Health nurses and midwives deserve a fair and reasonable package of wages and conditions.

Be part of this important campaign and help Keep Nursing and Midwifery Strong.

Warm wishes
Beth Mohle
QNU Secretary

Keeping Nursing & Midwifery Strong - EB8 update

20 February 2012

Dear members

Unfortunately, a draft EB8 proposal, which I considered acceptable for you to consider and vote on, could not be concluded prior to the official start of the election campaign on Sunday.

After months of intensive negotiations a lot has been achieved and agreement has been reached with Queensland Health on a range of issues, including:

• workloads management

• rural and remote incentives and

• greater support for Nurse/Midwifery Unit Managers.

However, there were still a couple of significant items to be settled at the end of last week and the QNU would not be hurried into a substandard outcome just because an election was due.

I can assure you we worked very hard trying to reach agreement prior to the election, including holding daily negotiations for the past two weeks and meeting with senior politicians and advisors. However, some issues are too important to the future of Queensland nursing and midwifery and they need more time to be finalised. The government did not make an offer on these matters prior to the caretaker period commencing.

These include enhancements to the career and classification structure for nurses and midwives at Grades 5, 6 and 7.

Queensland Health is also resisting a three per cent annual rise for the Professional Development Allowance. Failure to increase this important allowance, in line with pay and other allowance rises, will see it lose its value over time and we must try to avoid that happening.

Caretaker arrangements mean formal negotiations cannot now recommence until after the election. QNU officials will however continue meeting with Queensland Health officials during the election period to finalise the wording on those issues we have agreed on and continue discussions on the outstanding matters. It will then be up to the next government to finalise the negotiations after March 24.

The QNU expects all political parties to honour the progress made to date and commit to finalising a draft agreement, for you to consider and vote on, within one month of the State election.

We also expect all parties to commit, during the election campaign, to working with us, so we can continue improving health services through the valuing, respecting and empowering of nurses and midwives.

The QNU will keep you advised on the position of each political party as it becomes available.

The point is, EB8 is now an election issue and we will be calling on you, during the campaign, to help us keep politicians focused on Keeping Nursing & Midwifery Strong.

Warm Regards
Beth Mohle
QNU Secretary

EB8 negotiations update 15 February

15 February 2012

As you may be aware our EB8 negotiations with Queensland Health continue as the state election looms. I have some important information for you to share with your work colleagues.

Our negotiating team was locked in high level talks for much of last week and we have scheduled extra negotiations for this week in an effort to secure a suitable in-principle enterprise agreement before the government enters caretaker mode this weekend.

We held meetings with Health Minister Geoff Wilson on Friday 10 February and Tuesday 14 February in a bid to narrow down some of the issues.

QNU Council has also participated in the process and, after reviewing our key pay and condition claims and plan of action, passed a resolution on Friday supporting the push for an in-principle agreement outlining our bottom line on key matters of principle.

At a branch level, QNU members at scheduled and extraordinary branch meetings across the state over the past fortnight, overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution calling on the Queensland government to make a firm enterprise bargaining (EB8) offer in time for us to consider prior to the start of the caretaker period on 19 February.

Despite our tight schedule, be assured we will not support a half-baked agreement for the sake of hitting a deadline.

We have some important pay and condition claims we are determined to retain or improve.

If it is not possible to reach a fair and reasonable agreement before Sunday, then you can bet this will become a hot election issue.

We will continue to bring you EB8 updates as our negotiations progress.

Regards
QNU Secretary
Beth Mohle

EB8 negotiations and the countdown to a caretaker government

1 February 2012

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has called a state election for 24 March 2012.

As you might appreciate, the looming election adds a certain sense of urgency to our negotiations for an agreement to cover Queensland Health nurses and midwives. As such we have stepped up our EB8 negotiations with Queensland Health officials in the hope of locking in an acceptable agreement on pay and working conditions for nurses and midwives before the government enters caretaker mode on February 19.

Under caretaker provisions, the government is not permitted to make major undertakings or to sign off on significant matters with a financial cost. This would normally stop the negotiating of a major enterprise bargaining agreement in this period.

Until that time however, Parliament will operate normally and is scheduled to sit on February 14, 15 and 16, giving us an opportunity to reach an ‘in-principle’ agreement with the government on our enterprise bargaining claims.

While there is a range of terms and conditions we are pursuing in these negotiations, some of the key items we are seeking to secure are:

• Pay increases to maintain our strong national position and ensure Queensland Health is the employer of choice for nurses and midwives.
  

• Better workloads management through the proper application of the Business Planning Framework (the tool for managing nursing and midwifery workloads) and by giving nurses and midwives in management positions the necessary authority to ensure they have sufficient nurses and midwives to deliver the service required, and ensuring minimum nurse/midwife-to-patient ratios are identified and published in wards/units which then match staffing and skill mix levels.
  

• An improved classification and career structure which provides greater access for advancement and recognition and a separate midwifery structure.
  

• Improvements to the rural and remote nurse incentive program to attract and retain nurses and midwives in rural and remote communities.
  

• Greater financial authority for senior nurses such as Directors of Nursing and Nurse/Midwifery Unit Managers to allow them to perform their roles.
  

It is not necessary to finalise a full agreement before the government enters caretaker mode, but by achieving an ‘in-principle’ agreement we have a way to protect and enhance your wages and conditions.

This is something we are keen to pursue in light of the attacks on the wages and working conditions of nurses and midwives in Victoria and New South Wales under Liberal state governments.

It is proposed that an ‘in-principle’ agreement would contain all of the items to be included in a final enterprise bargaining agreement.

The ‘in-principle’ agreement would need to be agreed to by the Queensland government and the QNU Council prior to the caretaker provisions commencing on 19 February 2012.

Once the caretaker mode commences, a formal agreement can be drafted and an offer presented to QNU members to approve to go to ballot.

A ballot of all nurses and midwives can occur during the caretaker period, and regardless of which political party forms government an approved agreement can be certified in the Industrial Relations Commission. If the agreement is not approved in the ballot, negotiations will continue under the new government, and all previously agreed items are up for renegotiation.

Over the next week and a half—as negotiations progress—we will be looking to achieve an ‘in-principle’ agreement that we believe best protects your interests.

QNU Council—as the elected representative body of members—must determine if it is suitable for you to consider.

All of the items contained in our list of bargaining items (log of claims) are being discussed in negotiations.

We propose that only a fair and reasonable outcome, which recognises the substantial ongoing productivity increases nurses and midwives generate within Queensland Health, will be considered by QNU Council, and ultimately by QNU members.

To this end QNU Organisers and member representatives will be out in  workplaces in the coming days talking with members about the current situation.

A number of scheduled and extraordinary branch meetings will be held at major facilities throughout the state over the next week and a half, before QNU Council meets on 10 February, to determine if members are satisfied with our proposed course of action.

We have always maintained that finalising a new enterprise bargaining agreement before an election was our preferred option—it is for this reason that we organised intensive rounds of negotiations late last year.

Premier Bligh’s announcement of a March election means we must move swiftly and decisively to put QNU members in a strong position after the votes have been counted.

We are faced with a unique set of circumstances: we are seeking pay and conditions certainty for nurses and midwives ahead of the looming state election and we have a small window of opportunity to do so before we enter unknown territory. In this context we have sought to cover off on every imaginable contingency.

If we are able to achieve an ‘in-principle’ agreement which protects and builds on the important gains made for nurses and midwives in recent years, then you should be given the opportunity to consider it.

The next couple of weeks will be critical to our EB8 campaign. Please attend scheduled branch meetings (which can be attended during paid work time) where you can ensure your voice is heard.

For more EB8 information including the details of branch meetings occurring near you, visit the EB8 campaign webpage at www.qnu.org.au/news/campaigns/eb8

Regards
QNU Secretary
Beth Mohle