HACSU is proud to announce that the 2016-2020 Victorian Public Mental Health EBA has been certified by the Fair Work Commission today, April 20, 2017.

The EBA campaign was driven by HACSU members demanding better services, staffing, and safety to improve the working life for thousands of public mental health clinicians and support staff across Victoria.

This agreement is the most successful agreement we have won in decades. It will deliver 128.8 new clinicians across the state, major developments in health and safety policy, increased annual leave for health professionals, the first ever EBA community workload management tool, pay rises between 13 and 28% over the life to the EBA, well above the national average in the public sector (which is currently 2.3%) and much, much more. Please click here to see more information about the EBA outcomes.

The contribution HACSU members have made to this outcome cannot be overestimated. Developments in negotiations only occurred when HACSU members’ implemented work bans and stood in solidarity to take stop work action, building pressure on the health services to come to an agreement.

Without taking this action, we would not have achieved this great outcome. Congratulations to all the members who participated in this important part of the campaign. Members were prepared to be docked pay to resolve the EBA. Through sacrificing a few hours pay, you have won between $20,000 and $37,000 in cumulative pay increases for ALL workers in the public mental health sector.

When is the back pay coming?

The agreement will take 7 ‘usual working days’ to come into affect, at which point health services will be able to include the first back payment in the following pay cycle. This means that members will begin to receive payments in the first full pay cycle following April 27 2017.

A reminder that HACSU has requested the lump sum and good faith payments to be made in two separate pay cycles to avoid massive tax.

HACSU is currently in contact with the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the VHIA to organise the order in which the payments will be made. HACSU will notify members as soon as this information is available.

HACSU has developed a factsheet to help members understand what payments you can expect. Please click here to view this factsheet.

Again, all members all congratulated on this huge effort, it has been a long campaign, however, without the defiant and continued action by HACSU members, we would not be where we are today.