Home Care Bulletin – It’s time to act – 30 July 2015 (PDF version)

PSA state-wide bans were put in place last week after previously rejected transfer arrangements were forced on Home Care employees.

PSA members had previously rejected these arrangements because:

• Current conditions which are not contained in the Home Care Award are not transferring over to the new employer.
• Home Care Service employees will be transferred by Ministerial Order and, as such, the consent of staff to transfer will not be required.
• The protections offered are Clayton’s protections as they are not contained in a deed or legally enforceable document. Therefore any talk of a two year employment guarantee period is meaningless.
• The deal is inferior to other recent privatisation transfer arrangements.

Through extensive consultation with you via surveys, workplace visits, real-time live chats and most recently, individual phone calls, you have told us that you will not accept such inferior arrangements.

And why should you?

In other recent privatisations, employees have fared much better. For instance, Sydney Ferries employees received a two year guaranteed employment period with a 30-week transfer payment. Their conditions and transfer arrangements were protected by both an Enterprise Agreement and a legally enforceable Deed.

For the current privatisation of the Power Industry, a five year guaranteed employment period was agreed to with an eight week transfer payment. The conditions for employees have been protected by legislation.

For Home Care employees the arrangements put in place have the worst of both worlds, with a two year so called guaranteed employment period and an eight week transfer payment. However, the two year guaranteed employment period is a Clayton’s protection for pay and conditions as it remains in place only UNTIL the new employer seeks to make a new agreement under the Fair Work Act.

Act now to let the Government know how you feel.

Take our quick survey to let us know that you are ready to fight.

Not a member and want to take action to protect your job?

Join the PSA online NOW.