On July 31, members of the Victoria AMA/ASMOF met to keep abreast of current disputes with Victorian Health Services. AMA Victoria intends to file a „compendium“ dispute with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that covers the following: Given the uniqueness of the compendium dispute, it took longer than we would normally expect the issue to be listed by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). We have received some setbacks from the health services through their representative, the Victorian Hospitals` Industrial Association (VHIA), regarding our ability to conduct these types of litigation on jurisdictional grounds. They demand that we cannot include health services that are not directly involved in the individual disputes that we have cited as examples to illustrate the problems. Once the drafting of the proposed agreements is complete, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux will submit the proposed agreements to the government for final approval before proceeding to a staff vote under the Fair Work Act. Any changes to the current rules will be implemented as soon as possible. The Parties to this Agreement undertake to meet as soon as possible with a view to reaching a final agreement by 12 January 2018. Yes, on February 14, 2018, the government approved two agreements, one for junior medical staff and one for senior medical staff. These agreements will be put to the vote of the doctors employed at the hospital in March. The first hearing of the dispute between WADA and asMOF victoria compendium took place on Thursday 5 September at the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
This hearing allowed the parties to present their respective positions on the dispute. The Victorian Hospitals` Industrial Association (VHIA) approached the Commissioner and stated that it did not believe that WADA/ASMOF had exhausted all possibilities of the dispute settlement procedure provided for in the agreement and that the Commission should therefore not yet be in a position to rule on the majority of the issues raised in the dispute. AMA/ASMOF Victoria does not agree with this and believes that we have met the requirements of the dispute resolution procedures. The parties to the negotiations agreed on the following principles, which, together with a full list of scenarios and examples, were passed on to the health services: The cornerstone of this new EBA is the significant wage increase of 19.1% over 4 years The first salary increases will come into effect from 1 January 2018 of 9%. There will be a registration bonus of $2,000 for full-time physicians in training, prorated for part-time physicians. The CME allowance will be increased by $1,000 per year to offset the increase in training and college fees. Then 3% + 3% + 3% each following year. Hospitals are required to pay once the agreements have been approved by the Fair Work Board. If the vote is concluded, the agreements will be submitted after the end of the vote at the end of March. The benchmark for Fair Work Board approval is 50% within 3 weeks, 100% within 12 weeks. AMA Victoria asked the ministry to approve the payment earlier to minimize administrative delays. The probability that the agreement will fail at this stage is low.
This could only happen if the majority of doctors who vote in a particular hospital vote against it. You have to vote YES to make sure this doesn`t happen. We expect the agreements to be approved next week. The two sides attended a fair work conference on 23 July to answer the Commission`s questions on the agreements. The cornerstone of this new EBA is the significant increase in wages of 19.1% over 4 years. The first salary increases will take effect by 9% as of January 1, 2018, which applies to base rates and contractual compensation agreements that have been accumulated or agreed. There will be a registration bonus of $3500 for senior medical staff (pro rata for Fractional). Then 3% + 3% + 3% are paid each subsequent year on the contractually agreed wage rates. As physicians may know, AMA Victoria and ASMOF Victoria have filed a tariff dispute regarding the 37 health services covered by the 2018 Corporate Medical Specialist Agreement in relation to a number of ongoing disputes. We have described this as a „compendium controversy“ and it is the first of its kind in the medical field in Victoria. In the meantime, all Victorian doctors in training are currently invited to participate in the Hospital Health Check 2019 survey.
The information provided allows AMA Victoria to work with health services and government to demand specific changes in working conditions and hospital culture. Agreement has been reached on the issue of payment for unpaid public holidays; WaDA/ASMOF`s position was adopted and HIA reissued its recommendation to health services. A physician is entitled to a payment for a holiday that falls on a day on which he or she is not supposed to work. Significant progress has been made in the compendium dispute, with an agreement reached at two conciliation hearings with the Victorian Hospitals` Industrial Association (VHIA) in December on guidelines for clinical support (CST) and continuing medical education (CME). (Click the links to view the instructions.) We will continue to enforce claims agreed to by physicians under the 2018 Corporate Agreements and will continue to keep you informed of the progress of the compendium dispute. If you have any questions, please contact AMA Victoria`s Labour Relations team at (03) 9280 8722. Media reports suggest that these disputes are due to hospital funding issues, but AMA Victoria/ASMOF believe our members have the right to receive all their legal rights. All funding issues must be resolved by health services and government. Unfortunately, the same principles do not apply to the signing bonus, as the wording of the agreement explicitly states that the premium will be paid to a doctor who is „subject to the agreement and who was employed by a health service as of January 1, 2018.“ The parties have now also decided to transfer the issue of long-term authorization to arbitration, as it is clear that we cannot agree on the interpretation. The contentious issue is that if you do not believe that these principles have been adhered to by your health care department, discuss them with your medical human resources department.
If they do not resolve the issue to your satisfaction, please contact AMA Victoria`s Labour Relations team at (03) 9280 8722. Over the past few months, AMA Victoria has been negotiating on behalf of its members, HIA and the government on how the backlog should be applied under the new corporate agreements. In particular, it was discussed whether a physician is entitled to salary arrears if he or she left the public plan between January 1 and August 7, 2018, the date of entry into force of the agreement. We are pleased to inform you that doctors who have worked for a public health service during this period are entitled to the full additional payment of 9% after these negotiations. The new agreements were certified on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 and will come into effect 7 days later. As you may know, AMA Victoria took the unusual step in August of filing a legal dispute with each health department covered by the AMA Specialty Company Agreement. The move came after a year of frustration over the lack of progress in implementing new clauses in the agreement, as well as lengthy disputes over the interpretation of permanent leave entitlements. It was also an attempt to bind all parties to the agreement at the end of the disputes. Agreements become enforceable 7 days after approval.
The case was scheduled for a conference before a new Fair Work Commissioner, Vice-President Young, on Thursday, February 6, where the parties will keep the commissioner informed of the case and the progress made on the issues since the last conciliation hearing. .