On Friday, July 21, The Fair Work Commission (FWC) approved and rubber stamped the new The Tipping Foundation (TTF) and VISTA EBA 2017.

Congratulations to all members who took action and fought the long battle for a decent deal. HACSU thanks all the members and delegates; it was a true display of solidarity and strong union values. Also thanks to Janis Hartley-Moss, Asha Riehl and Martin Davis for their work in the negotiation meetings.
 

The process from here on is fairly straight forward; after approval by the FWC, TTF and VISTA have 7 days to implement the changes. After this 7 day period (28/07/17) the EBA is the document that sets out the rules for your pay and condition; increases to pay start immediately after the approval by FWC.

The new EBA is more comprehensive than the previous; several new clauses have been added that will change and improve your working life. However, most other changes may occur after the 7 day implementation period. During the next few months, it is important to be active and involved in any changes that affect you. In the implementation process, it is common for rumours to circulate or management to misinterpret clauses if you think this is occurring and want clarity, contact the HACSU office for accurate information. If you have any questions or concerns please call HACSU Assist on 9340 4100, or contact Will Elrick, HACSU Area Organiser, williame@hacsu.asn.au, 0427 267 996 or 9340 4134.
 

TTF is yet to inform HACSU about the process they will use to implement the new clauses. HACSU will provide this information to members when it becomes available, in the meantime, if you think changes are being implemented please contact the office for advice or support.

The new EBA has changed in the clauses that dictate the rules around rosters, the process for roster reviews, breaks between shifts, and hours of work. Some of these clauses offer improvements in shift patters, allocation of shifts, rest periods, and time for handovers. Unfortunately, there has also been the addition of a clause that requires minimum breaks between shifts. This could impact you if you are currently doing split shifts with small breaks between shifts. As the rostering changes are likely to impact most worksites please contact HACSU if you have questions about how it may affect you.

Under the new EBA, it is a requirement that all worksites and services must have team meetings as rostered shifts. This is standard across most of the industry, it allows for ease in communications between workers and a forum to raise issues or ask questions. It is not clear how TTF will implement this into current rosters; HACSU speculates that it be added during the roster review process.

The new EBA entitles part-time staff with contracts of at least 20 hours per-fortnight. This is the result of a growing trend of ‘1-hour contracts’ that provided no security or consistency in working hours. If you are on a contract of fewer than 20 hours per-fortnight, you are entitled to increase your hours; HACSU can support you during this process to ensure you obtain shifts that maintain a healthy work/life balance.

The new EBA allows for 28 residential units to be recognised as a ‘complex house’, a ‘complex house’ will be allocated a worker who is classified as an ‘Advance direct support worker’. TTF will provide more information on the ‘Advance DSW’ position and the application process in the near future. TTF has previously proposed a list of 25 residential units for ‘complex house’ classification. HACSU has requested a complete list of 28 residential units is provided, in accordance with the EBA.

In the past, many members raised concerns with the difficulties accessing training and supervision. As a result, HACSU fought and won better protections for training backfill and reimbursement; certain training is now mandatory for all workers. Supervision is now required in the EBA; if you are currently not receiving supervision and would like to start, contact your CEC to arrange a time. Supervision can’t be used for disciplinary purposes.