Catholic Health Care Campaign

AGREEMENT REACHED! A WIN FOR WORKERS

Details

Published on Tuesday, 08 December, 2009

Agreement Reached by Members
Members will be aware from our meeting earlier this week that, after intense debate and discussion of the pros and cons of management’s offer, a resolution has been made by a very close majority to accept Option 1 of management’s offer as follows:

“Whilst we do not consider that Option 1 adequately compensates us for our loss and nor does it represent the realistic cost of the purchase of a replacement motor vehicle, that Option 1 offering $6,000 compensation in settlement of this matter be accepted, only on the condition that the terms in the Deed of Release are acceptable to us and our union.”

A letter has been sent to management today on your behalf accepting the offer and we attach a copy of our letter now for your information.

Deed of Release – not acceptable at the moment

We are aware that management has made a Deed of Release available to staff who wish to accept the offer. In our view, the Deed is not acceptable for the following reasons and we will need to discuss these with you:

Clause 5 - No harmful statements or conduct

• In our view this clause should be removed entirely.
• This clause has never been raised in previous discussions or correspondence between the parties. It was certainly never agreed to and was not contained in management’s letter of 3 November which outlined the terms of agreement.
• It is somewhat unreasonable to introduce new material at this late stage of negotiations.
• The clause is unnecessary in a Deed of Release and not a legal requirement.
• It is restrictive and a limit on your right to free speech.

Annexure 2 - Motor Vehicle policy

• The Deed is excessively long because it annexes the Motor Vehicle policy. In our view this document does not need to be annexed to the deed.
• The policy can stand alone as a normal policy of the organisation just like all policies of the organisation.
• As the Deed is intended to release you and the organisation from obligations under your existing contracts of employment, it makes no sense to bind you to future motor vehicle arrangements now.

The Deed is a legally binding document and should not be entered into without proper advice. We strongly encourage you to read the Deed, particularly the Motor Vehicle policy annexed to the Deed, and provide us with your comments and feedback by 9 December. We will then write to management to amend the deed to ensure that it is acceptable.

Signing the Deed

Once the Deed is in a form that is acceptable to all, we would like to meet with members to:

1. Explain the terms of the deed;

1. Answer any questions;

1. Sign the Deed together.

Management has agreed to our request that a members meeting be held during paid business hours for the above purpose. This date has not yet been set but it will be before 18 December.

If you are not able to attend this meeting for any reason, please contact this office as you will need to arrange to sign the deed, once acceptable, at another time.

United We Stand!

We take this opportunity to congratulate members on achieving this outcome. It is only through your collective strength that agreement has been reached. Negotiations of this nature are always a compromise and we succeed or fail depending on our ability to stick together. Whilst the agreement will mean that some workers will get something for nothing and others will get a little less than what they deserve, this is nevertheless a win for union members and something to be celebrated!

If you do not wish to receive this bulletin, please reply to the sender or contact Adrienne Vella on 9310 4000.