The Cure NEWSLETTER FOR NZNO MEMBERS WORKING IN DHBS JULY 2013 Kia ora from DHB Industrial Adviser, Lesley Harry After a very dry summer and mild autumn, winter has finally arrived with a vengeance. We hope members particularly those living in the most weather torn areas are safe, well and dry. The first half of the year has been busy as NZNO staff, delegates and members deal with ongoing change in the sector. Laundry and Food services are being reviewed with the favoured option being to nationalise production and supply to 2 major cities. If the proposal goes ahead many workers throughout the country will likely face redundancy. NZNO is supporting the SFWU and PSA’s in ongoing discussions with Health Benefits Limited (HBL) for the retention of existing services within local DHBs. National Delegates Representatives This year we farewelled a number of long standing National Delegates and welcomed new members of the committee. In May, 19 delegates from around the country got together with NZNO staff in Wellington. The day’s agenda included campaigns and media training, strategies to respond to DHB regional Collaboration and the implementation of Care Point (CCDM) into worksites.
Transcript
The CureNEWSLETTER FOR NZNO
MEMBERS WORKING IN DHBS JULY 2013
Kia ora from DHB Industrial Adviser, Lesley HarryAfter a very dry summer and mild autumn, winter has finally arrived with a vengeance. We hope members particularly those living in the most weather torn areas are safe, well and dry.
The first half of the year has been busy as NZNO staff, delegates and members deal with ongoing change in the sector. Laundry and Food services are being reviewed with the favoured option being to nationalise production and supply to 2 major cities. If the proposal goes ahead many workers throughout the country will likely face redundancy. NZNO is supporting the SFWU and PSA’s in ongoing discussions with Health Benefits Limited (HBL) for the retention of existing services within local DHBs.
National Delegates Representatives This year we farewelled a number of long standing National Delegates and welcomed new members of the committee. In May, 19 delegates from around the country got together with NZNO staff in Wellington. The day’s agenda included campaigns and media training, strategies to respond to DHB regional Collaboration and the implementation of Care Point (CCDM) into worksites.
What can I do?Go to www.nzno.org.nz/badmedicine to find more information Attend a paid stopwork meeting www.nzno.org.nz/era_meetings(paid if you are attending during work time)
Join the discussion on Facebook: NZ Nurses OrganisationTalk to your colleagues about why the changes are bad medicine
The Government is planning more changes to our employment law. The Government is planning law changes that undermine fundamental human and employment rights. The changes will give your employer the ability to reduce your pay and conditions. They are bad for the workforce and bad for families. We need to advocate against them and tell the Government we want fair employment laws.
Good employment law would mean:
“We need a law to lift wages, not reduce them”
Bad medicineHOW THE EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONS AMENDMENT BILL WILL AFFECT THE
NURSING TEAM AND WHAT WE CAN ABOUT IT
“We need a law that strengthens collective bargaining”
when employment agreements are negotiated between a significant group of employers and employees, the conditions could be extended to cover similar workplaces. It’s only fair that people doing the same work have the benefit of the same pay and conditions;
employers could no longer fire you for no reason, and with no right of appeal, in your first 90 days of a new job;
NZNO organisers and professional nursing advisers would be allowed to come and see you at work;
if you were going to be dismissed from your role, it could only be for reasonable and fair reasons;
if the Employment Court found that you were unfairly dismissed, getting your old job back would be the primary remedy;
employees in precarious forms of employment (such as labour hire, casual employment and contracting) would have decent rights at work:
paid parental leave, pay equity and equal pay would be improved and be able to be enforced.
The changes will result in lower wages. The Government thinks that is a good thing. But low wages are already pushing thousands and thousands of Kiwis to leave for Australia. Creating a ‘cheap labour’ option is the wrong way to go. We actually need to go in a completely new direction.
Introducing CarePointNZNO has revitalised its commitment to safe staffing and the care capacity demand management programme; we have a range of strategies to engage our members including a new campaign brand. Think of it like a new car – the engine is still care capacity demand management, the destination is safe staffing and the name of the car that will take us there is CarePoint.
CarePoint represents the organic nature of the care capacity demand management programme and symbolises the strength when its core values operate together as one to create positive change.
The new brand will be used on all NZNO safe staffing campaign material.
The new campaign brand CarePoint supports the idea of the programme being both virtual and tangible. It aims to engage members with the ultimate essence of the CCDM programme – care – with the branding device being made up of the four essential elements to care delivery - our patients, our staff, our resources, our plan.
You can find out more about how CarePoint works by checking out the NZNO website www.nzno.org.nz, by talking to your NZNO delegate or organiser, or by calling the NZNO member support centre on 0800 28 38 48.
CarePoint info pack and DVD available now!Ask your NZNO organiser or professional nursing adviser for your resource pack.
Care Capacity Demand ManagementThe report of the Committee of Inquiry into Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces (2006) identifies the essential elements for the delivery of safe and effective nursing and midwifery care.
Care Capacity Demand Management is a way of matching service demand with service capacity to ensure the right number and skill mix of staff are available to meet the needs of patients.
We all want patients to have the best possible outcome. This is most likely to be achieved when patients have the care they need when they need it.
Care Capacity Demand Management is the programme that has been developed by the Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces Unit, NZNO and district health boards (DHBs) to ensure that this happens not just some days but every day.
DHBs have committed to achieving healthy workplaces which requires “...effective care capacity management, having appropriate levels of staff, mix, experience, and resourcing to achieve a match between demand and capacity” and; “The parties agree to work together to establish a national framework for a whole of system approach to care capacity management...” DHB MECA 1 March 2012 – 28 Feb 2015, p65.
CCDM is that framework. Duration 12:00Format: 16:9 Widescreen PAL
Safe staffing, healthy workplaces CARE CAPACITY DEMAND MANAGEMENT (CCDM)
Safe staffing, healthy
workplaces
A GUIDE FOR NZNO MEMBERS
National Bi-Partite Action Group (National Bag)National Bag comprises of union and DHB representatives and meets each month by teleconference and face to face meeting every second month. The work program has been intense due to rapid changes in the sector but we are making progress on a number of issues. National Bag maintains an overview of the following work:
Healthy Workplaces. The Safe Staffing Unit has secured funding for a further 3 years. Governance arrangements have been extended to include the PSA and the SFWU. The roll out of the implementation of CCDM/ CarePoint in more DHBs. More about CarePoint later.
MECA Interpretation Subcommittee (MISC) MISC has been extended to include the PSA and SFWU to help address disputes common to all the unions. The committee has resolved a number of outstanding disputes and is currently progressing matters from MECA negotiations such as:
on- call and telephone on call practices
access to professional development
MISC has agreed that any inconsistencies in the approval for discretionary sick leave should be dealt with by local Bipartite Action Groups as the nature of the inconsistencies will be easier to establish at a local level and therefore better able to be resolved.
PDRP for Senior Nurses. Most DHBs with a PDRP for Senior Nurses are using a nationally consistent guide-lines for senior nurses Where that is not happening, NZNO is advocating for consistency at the local level. NZNO’s position is that PDRP is optional and not compulsory and the PDRP is consistent with Nursing Council requirements.
Senior Nurse Reviews. As a result of an increase in reviews that have resulted in the disestablishment of positions or a change to job size, we have requested the DHBs provide numbers and outcomes of reviews over the last 12 months. In the meantime NZNO continues to advocate for the retention of SN positions.
Adverse Weather PolicyA draft policy was developed by National Bag which sets out the requirements of employers and staff when adverse weather conditions prevent staff from attending work. To date, DHBs have not agreed to National Bags draft policy. We aim to reach and outcome that provides members with reassurance and some certainty during adverse weather conditions.
Other Policies under discussion include Social Media, Drug and Alcohol, Smoke Free and Staff Vaccination.
Change Management FrameworkNeeds to be updated to reflect Regional DHB activity
Challenge to DHBs passing on the benefits negotiated by union to non members
The MECA Interpretation Subcommittee (MISC) MISC met in May and reached agreement on a number of MECA interpretation problems which have been endorsed by the National Bi- Partite Group
Pro-rating of Shift Leave-Clause 13.2 Q. Is the number of days shift leave pro-rated for part-time employees?
A. It is agreed that the number days are not pro-rated for part-timers. Therefore, a part time employee will receive 5 days shift leave paid, provided they meet the criteria for qualifying shifts. Payment of shift leave is based on the employee’s part time hours.
Sick Leave-6.19h Q. What are employees entitled to for sick leave if they are working alternative shifts of 10 and/or 12 hours?
A. Employees will get paid for the hours that they would have worked that day if they had not taken sick leave. E.G. If they had worked a 12 hour shift they are paid for 12 hours. This may mean that an employee may receive more than 80 hours sick leave in a twelve month period.
Change Management by Attrition Agreed if DHBs are using attrition to reduce staffing numbers then this will trigger the Change Management clause within the MECA. DHBs are reminded of their obligation to consult on change.
Payment of penal rates when shift straddles 2 days-Clause 8.3.3Q. What is the correct penal payment when the shift straddles midnight on either Friday/Saturday or Sunday/Monday?
A. Clause 8.3.3 (a) provides that “Weekend rate - applies to ordinary time (other than overtime) worked after midnight Friday/Saturday until midnight Sunday/Monday shall be paid at time one half (T0.5) in addition to the ordinary hourly rate of pay.”
Higher Duties Allowance-Clause 10.2Q. What is the interpretation of the word “substantially” in the Higher Duties Allowance?
A. If the person is expected to fulfil the elements of the designated role that arise during the time they are in the role that is deemed to meet the requirements of substantially. It would not be feasible for someone to do all elements if those elements don’t arise during the period they are in the role-this does not mean they are not substantially doing the role.
SFWU v Terrnova Homes & Care Ltd (“The Equal Pay
Case”)Update by NZNO employment lawyer, Jock Lawrie
The first equal pay claim to come before the Courts in almost 30 years was heard in the Employment Court on 24, 25 and 26 June. The Court was considering preliminary issues concerning:
the correct statutory interpretation of the Equal Pay Act 1972, including whether a comparator for the purposes of any claim might be from within the workplace, from within the sector, or from outside the sector;
relevant guidelines for the parties to consider in any such claim and process to be followed.
The first day of the hearing was given to Plaintiff’s submissions (SFWU/Peter Cranney). The Court seemed engaged in the arguments put forward.
A favourable report on Campbell Live in the evening provided excellent coverage.
Day two saw the close of Plaintiff submissions, presentation of Defendant’s submissions (H Waalkens QC), submissions from Human Rights Commission (Matthew Palmer).
The Court questioned the Defendant closely as to their interpretation of the Equal Pay Act, and appeared sceptical of the Defendant’s arguments that a comparator should only be drawn from the same workplace. Matthew Palmer for the Human Rights Commission presented an excellent and powerful submission in support of the SFWU and CTU position.
On Day 3, the CTU and Pay Equity Challenge submission was completed, and submissions were also presented for CEVEP (Coalition for Equal Value, Equal Pay), the NZ Aged Care Association and Business NZ. Bruce Corkill QC presented an excellent submission for CTU/PEC, as did Steph Dyhrberg for CEVEP.
The Plaintiff (SFWU) and Defendant (Terranova Homes) were then given an opportunity to respond to the intervener submissions, before closing submissions from Peter Cranney.
equal payAll the way for
The Employment Court (Colgan CJ, Inglis J and Perkins J) has reserved its decision. It is anticipated a decision may be 3-6 months away.
At the close of the hearing counsel for the Plaintiff and supporting interveners were agreed that while they were not in a position to predict the outcome, the Court hearing itself had gone as well as might have been expected.
It is perhaps significant that when discussing the earlier Clerical Workers Union case in 1986 which was dismissed by the (then) Arbitration Court, Chief Judge Colgan characterised the earlier judgement as having been “remarkably timid and dismissive”. Also, the Court appeared to dismiss any suggestion that issues of Defendant affordability could be an aid to statutory interpretation – the Chief Judge noting that no doubt “affordability” had been an argument against the abolition of slavery.
CDHB clothing allowance caseUpdate by NZNO employment lawyer, Jock Lawrie
NZNO v Canterbury District Health Board, [2013] NZERA Christchurch 79
NZNO and Canterbury DHB (“the DHB”) were in dispute as to the interpretation of the clothing allowance provision of the NZNO/DHB MECA (“the MECA”).
The MECA clothing allowance provisions were amended during negotiations in 2007. NZNO claimed that the DHB was obliged from that time to pay a daily clothing allowance to mental health staff who wore ‘civvies’ due to the requirements of the job until such time as an appropriate uniform was made available.
While the DHB had commenced plans to introduce appropriate uniforms shortly after the 2007 MECA change, these plans were put on hold following the bi-partite
MECA Interpretation Sub Committee (“MISC”) recommendation on the application of the new clothing allowance provisions.
The DHB claimed the MISC recommendations meant that no daily clothing allowance was payable to staff, and NZNO was effectively estopped/prevented from bringing a claim on behalf of mental health staff for the allowance.
The issue had been subject of ongoing claim and counter-claim between NZNO and the DHB, including Department of Labour/MBIE Mediation.
The dispute covers at least 400 NZNO members and represents a significant potential back-pay claim of at least six figures.
DeterminationThe Authority held that the DHB is required by the MECA to apply the daily clothing allowance provisions to the NZNO members.
The Authority also held that the MISC recommendations did not negate the claim nor estopp/prevent NZNO pursuing the matter on the members’ behalf.
NZNO is offering the DHB a further opportunity to reach an agreed outcome to the dispute without need for further, and possibly protracted, litigation.
Should NZNO and the DHB not reach an agreed settlement then further legal steps will be taken by NZNO to enforce individual member claims.
Funding Cuts and RedundanciesDHBs are receiving the lowest funding in 15 years and the need to reduce deficits has lead to numerous service reviews. Counties Manukau have a $17 million shortfall in funding and Waitemata a $6 million shortfall. NZNO has been informed that redundancies at Waitemata are inevitable. Members are telling us they are increasingly working short staffed. Nursing cuts will inevitably impact on patient safety and NZNO will speak out and challenge staff cuts.
