Members provided witness statements in support of the ACTU’s casual conversion and minimum engagement period case. The case is now at its final stages with submissions currently being put to the Commission.
Members also participated in defending employer attacks on our part time provisions in the SCHADS Award. We will be making our final submissions at a further hearing in relation to this next month. Secure employment is at the heart of both of these claims – this is essential for us to maintain our living standards and to meet the needs of those who we support in the case of SACS.
We have made a number of claims to improve conditions in the SCHADS Award, including sleepovers, classification and broken shifts. Employer groups on the other hand, are determined to water down conditions we have fought hard for including penalty rates, hours of work and payments for working while on-call. We have been participating in conciliation in the Fair Work Commission during the last two months in an attempt to narrow the areas in dispute between unions and employers. These discussions are still at a very preliminary stage and we will be consulting with members in relation to any concrete proposals tabled by the employer groups.
Want more info?
Read ASU member statements to the FWC standing up for job security. There are statements from members working at Samaritans, Valmar Support Services and Accnet21.
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/awardsmodernfouryr/common/am2014196-197-sub-asu-220216.pdf