Today we attended a compulsory conference at the Fair Work Commission regarding St John’s F11 application for the Commission to Deal with a Bargaining Dispute, alongside AEAWA’s and UWU’s separate F34 Protected Action Ballot Orders.
St John’s “Package” Offer
St John has presented what they’ve described as a “package” offer – meaning it must be accepted or rejected in its entirety, not as individual components. The offer includes:
a) Wages: 7%, 5%, 4% (backdated to the nominal expiry date of the 2021 agreement)
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This is an increase from their previous 6%, 5%, 4% offer
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This is contingent on reducing the maximum/default ambulance cleaning time contained in the EBA from 30 to 15 minutes
b) Shift breaks:
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224 roster: 11 hour breaks between day shifts, 10 hours between night shifts (up from the current 9 hours)
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4×4 roster: 11 hour breaks between 12 hour shifts
c) Late shift protection: No new jobs in final 30 minutes unless Priority 1 or higher ‘blackout’ period
d) CP secondments: Initial 2-year period with two possible 1-year extensions by mutual agreement (2+1+1).
e) DELN roster: Implementation on trial basis
f) Overtime allocation: Commitment to implement a digital rostering system within the life of the agreement
Community Paramedic
To address concerns around CP rostering, the Commissioner has suggested wording that would recognise the benefits of 24/7 back-to-back coverage in non-metropolitan areas, with implementation principles including JCC consultation, prioritising locations based on various factors, and developing shift patterns to ensure 24/7 coverage.
In good faith, we have compromised on the Community Paramedic secondment lengths from our original position to the 2+1+1 structure outlined above.
We will continue to keep you updated as negotiations progress. As a reminder, the recent vote overwhelmingly rejected St John’s previous offer, with 987 “no” votes versus 123 “yes” votes from the 1,110 votes cast.
AEAWA’s Position
We have firmly reiterated our position that any pay deal must address CPI. As previously communicated to members, we need to achieve a compounded raise of 21.6% over the life of the agreement. A minimum of 6.75%/6.75%/6.75% would achieve this.
We remain dissatisfied with the proposed reduction in cleaning time within the EBA from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. While claims for ‘cleaning time’ are technically ‘up to 30 minutes’ and CCTV/swipe card records show actual cleaning time used, we find it disingenuous that St John is offering a pay increase while simultaneously seeking to recoup the money elsewhere. Though St John claims extended cleaning time would still be possible through a P8 system as required, the EBA maximum entitlement would be reduced to 15 minutes. This undermines the integrity of the wage offer.
Regarding shift breaks, we recognise this represents a significant shift from St John’s previous position, aligning more closely with our sought minimum break of 10.5 hours between nights and 11 hours between days. This may be the first actual measure in reducing shift extensions that will make a real difference, providing a genuine incentive for St John to ensure shifts finish as close to “on time” as possible. Of course, these concessions are part of the ‘package’.
On the late shift protection (blackout period in last 30 minutes), while it appears meaningful, we note that over 50% of all 000 calls are categorised as P1. Many of these are in fact P2 or P3/P4 calls. At shift changeover time, there may be several queued P1 calls. Despite the good intentions of this blackout period, we can’t see how this will result in fewer shift extensions.
We also continue to advocate for several important open claims that have not been addressed in St John’s package, including:
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Introduction of a Code of Conduct clause into the Agreement to ensure not every conduct matter is managed under the serious misconduct path, instead ensuring appropriate and proportionate use of supportive measures such as mediation, training, arbitration, and performance management
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Creation of an AP4 classification for paramedics with 10+ years of service to better recognise experience and length of service
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Improved Long Service Leave flexibility to better serve the needs of our experienced members
Thank you to all our members for your continued support. Your collective strength and steadfast resolve have been crucial throughout these negotiations.
AEAWA Executive