eBulletin

13 February 2023

AV & AEAV COMMENCE BARGAINING

As per the provision outlined in the current Certified Agreement for Ambulance Victoria staff, bargaining for your next enterprise agreement is due to commence 12 months prior to the expiry of the current agreement.

The first meeting of the bargaining parties was held on Tuesday 7 February.  This meeting was convened to establish protocols for the next 12 months of discussions, work through a schedule of meetings and to seek agreement on the best way to break up the content of discussions which is significant.

Meetings have been set between the parties to occur twice a week for the rest of the year with an assessment being made as we work through the content to be discussed if this will suffice.

Your UWU/AEAV Log of Claims is currently being finalised and endorsed by the AEAV Leaders group and will be provided to members in due course.

There are some ambitious claims which will require the support of members to negotiate an outcome on.  The AEAV Leaders group has been guided by the principle of no worker left behind when formulating this Log of Claims, ensuring all corners of the organisation have a voice and get their claims discussed during this bargaining process.

Watch this space for further updates on the progress of negotiations and for your copy of the claims we will be fighting for.

UNIONS & BARGAINING PARTIES TO HONOUR PROVISIONS OF CURRENT AGREEMENT BEFORE BARGAINING COMMENCES

Late last year, the Union and other bargaining parties argued that the ongoing work of the Work Force Review and Classification Review, which was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and Memorandum of Understanding, needed to be completed.

Both the Union and Julius Roe (former Fairwork commissioner and appointed facilitator) were of the view that issues raised in both reviews would need be canvassed first before moving to specific claims and solutions for the upcoming enterprise agreement. This was agreed upon to ensure that the new EA was fit for purpose and was suitable for a rapidly changing workplace.

Union delegates and officials met with ESTA and Roe on Wednesday 8 February and established a plan on how the reviews would coincide with bargaining.

We will be sending updates regarding the progress of these meetings as they occur.

ESTA AGREES TO MOU EXTENSION

Prior to the meeting on the 8 February, the Union raised their concerns about the impending MOU expiry and the impact on our members and ESTA’s lack of communication regarding this. In the meeting, ESTA stated that they would extend the Memorandum of Understanding until the 30 June 2023 and agreed that it will remain in its current form.

KEEP IN TOUCH

As always, if you have any issues, questions or queries, get in touch by leaving a message on 9287 1713 or email [email protected]

And most importantly, please stay safe out there.

Your AEAV team