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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 957 ..
MR MOORE (continuing):
represented by one or two signatory unions, the Australian Nursing Federation and the Health Services Union of Australia.
Events at Calvary Hospital
After the announcement I made on Monday, 4 December, events moved fastest at Calvary Hospital. Management drew up a variation, a legal text for an amendment to the enterprise bargaining agreement, and began negotiations with staff, including local representatives and union representatives from the Health Services Union and the Nursing Federation. Although there was some level of objection by ANF officials and some members, the HSUA and its members appeared very positive. It became clear very quickly that staff were pleased with the package and keen to accept it.Unions agreed with management on a variation document on 22 December. This date is important because the government had agreed that it would fund the backdating of the pay rises to that point in the process-the agreement between unions and management.
This agreement had been reached after 18 days. Calvary prepared for the conduct of an all-staff ballot to endorse the variation, although it was not appropriate to conduct this over the Christmas-January holiday period. The ballot was eventually held in the last week of January, and a result was known on Friday, 2 February. Staff voted 83 per cent yes and 17 per cent no, endorsing the change by an overwhelming majority.
The legal process was completed by certification of the change at a hearing in the Industrial Relations Commission. This took place on Thursday, 8 March. The varied agreement is now in force. Calvary Hospital is now advertising for nurses with the slogan "Enjoy the best pay and conditions in the ACT". I believe they could have said "in Australia".
Events at the Canberra Hospital
As at Calvary, management at the Canberra Hospital initiated the discussion process with ANF and HSUA. HSUA officials indicated at an early stage that they were happy to accept the offer. ANF officials took a different stance. No detailed progress was made prior to the new year. From the launch of the package and throughout December, January and early February, TCH administration undertook a remarkably extensive effort at communication with staff. In this time TCH circulated no less than 13 staff updates on this issue.An extensive series of staff meetings and forums was conducted, involving the chief executive, the senior nursing adviser, and a range of other nursing leadership and human resources staff. Meetings took place on a number of occasions with ANF officials. However, progress never reached the point made at Calvary. TCH had produced a series of draft variations, making modifications in response to comments during staff consultations and discussions with the ANF. A document titled "Version 4" was on the table on 31 January.
At this point negotiations began to stall, and indeed it became clear that ANF officials were preparing a strategy of rejecting the offer. Meetings of ANF members took place on Thursday, 8 February, and Friday, 16 February. These meetings endorsed resolutions
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