Union could drop entire FWA case
The unions are furious, disappointed and are yet to decide where to from here, now that the FWA decision on the low paid authorisation case for residential aged care workers is in.
By Yasmin Noone
For about a year now, residential aged care workers around the country have been wishing and waiting for the moment which occurred at midday today — the moment when the full bench of Fair Work Australia (FWA) handed down its decision on the low paid authorisation test case.
Despite there being two ways the decision could go, United Voice and The Australian Workers’ Union of Employees, Queensland, (the applicants) were confident that FWA would have to rule in their favour.
The applicants thought it was highly likely that the authorisation would include all low paid employees and that employer groups would be forced to participate in wage negotiations.
Much to their surprise, the full bench did not rule entirely as they had hoped.
The decision, released at midday, deemed that all residential aged care workers were “low paid”. But, only those on an award wage would be covered by the authorisation and those on an enterprise bargaining agreement would be excluded.
United Voice is therefore considering the possibility of dropping the entire case all together, even though they could still reap wage increases for their members on an award wage.
Assistant national secretary of United Voice, Sue Lines, said the decision is insulting and disappointing.
All of the union’s residential aged care members have been recognised by the full bench as low paid, she said, and they all deserve to be included in the authorisation.
“The vast bulk of the sector is left out of this decision and is languishing on low pay,” said Ms Lines.
When asked by AAA whether or not the union would still go ahead with negotiations for award-wage employees only, Ms Lines said, “We will have to look at it”.
“I’m not sure what we say to [those on enterprise agreements]. ‘Sorry mate. But the union will spend hundreds of dollars bargaining for other workers but not on you?’
“Are we going to spend at least 12 months fighting with employers who don’t want to bargain with us?… or [do we say], ‘Let’s go force the government to do something better with this legislation [Fair Work Act]?’
Perth-based Aaron Depiazza works in a facility as a carer, has been in the sector for around six years and is one of United Voice’s members. As a result of today’s decision, he is now excluded from the authorisation and from any future wage increases which result from the case.
“I think the decision is quite unfair actually,” said Mr Depiazza.
“I think the government has let us down, as they’ve divided us [workers] into ones on enterprise agreements and ones on an award. The ones on an enterprise bargaining agreement have still had to fight hard [for a small increase] and, at the end of the day, are still on low pay.
“I work for an agency as well and I’ve had a few dealings with other people in care facilities. They all say the same thing, how [in trying to achieve their enterprise bargaining agreement], they’ve been locked out of work, been bullied and harassed. It’s not the way to go.”
Mr Depiazza conceded that he does get paid more than an employee on an award wage but only by $1.56.
“But when we get the higher pay, we loose the hours. They cut off so many hours a week because the pay has gone up. So the job has intensified, there are less employees and there is less time to do the job.”
Ms Lines commented on the assumption that residential aged care workers covered by an enterprise agreement are well paid.
“I’d like anyone who thinks that $19.02 per hour is a liveable wage to spend a day in Aaron’s shoes in aged care,” Ms Lines said. “It’s a non-sense.
“FWA acknowledges that people in Aaron’s position are low paid but where does Aaron go? In three years time does he have another year long battle to increase his hourly rate by 30 cents?”
“…We want the government to review this legislation [the Fair Work Act which governs the Fair Work Australia bench in making decisions] and where a group is seen as low paid, they should be included in this provision.”
“The legislation needs to be a lot clearer and fairer. Why should we spend more of our members’ money and more time applying to FWA on what the government hasn’t been clear about? What we need now is for the government to act.”
The case was the first heard before the full bench late last year. The aged care application was the first ever made under the new low paid bargaining powers of the Fair Work Act, making residential aged care union members are the first low-paid employee group to have ever have sought a wage increase through FWA.
To read a copy of the FWA decision, click here.
AAA will look at the employer’s perspective of the decision in our next e-newsletter.
