From the Secretary

Northcott: Your EA and the line in the sand

After months of negotiations, it’s finally time for you and your colleagues to decide the fate of your Northcott Enterprise Agreement (EA). Voting will start on 28 January.

What’s in the deal?

You should have received a copy of the proposed agreement for you to review and consider.

Briefly, your HSU Bargaining Team has been able to secure:

  • 14 weeks paid parental leave and 4 weeks support parent leave
  • Increased penalty loading for casual staff on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
  • Increased minimum shifts from 2 to 3 hours for shift workers
  • Better rights for casuals
  • Paid domestic violence and community service leave
  • Improved consultation provisions

And a range of other improved conditions. You can see the summary here.

What about the money?

How this agreement impacts you depends on your role and how you came to be at Northcott.

  • For support workers at Level 2 the new agreement will increase your rates by a further 5.5% on top of the 2% Northcott has already passed on (so 7.5% in total), an increase of $2/hr.
  • For support workers on the CLA (transferred) the new agreement will see an hourly rate of $30.95, plus the introduction of salary packaging.
  • For Allied Health, Support/Service & ECEI Coordination, FLW Supervisors, Administration, Quality & Safeguarding, Area/Service Managers the new agreement will see a 2% increase on 1 July 2021 on top of the 2% Northcott has already passed on.

And for all employees any percentage increase determined by the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Case will be passed on from 1 July 2022.

You can see a full rundown of the pay offer here.

Is this good enough?

Yes and no. There are significant improvements to the wages and conditions of many Northcott employees. However, the new agreement would see an end to some of the conditions that carried across with transferred support workers. Much work has gone into trying to maintain these – however, Northcott has now drawn the line in the sand.

Ultimately, the position taken by the HSU will be determined by members. To get your feedback members are invited to attend one of the following meetings:

Wednesday 20 January at 4:30pm: https://zoom.us/j/93076315942

Thursday 21 January at 4:30pm: https://zoom.us/j/94549670916

What happens now?

If the majority vote ‘yes’, the agreement will be sent to the Fair Work Commission for approval. If the majority vote ‘no’, we will be pursuing Northcott to recommence bargaining.

If you have any questions about what is proposed, please contact:

Thank You! Your HSU Bargaining Team have been tirelessly working to negotiate improvements to your pay and conditions. I want to thank Ann Marie Dzonlagic, Grace Curgenven, Kim Watts, Lesley Ann Smith, Melanie James, Tordis Bulger and Tracy Martin for your work and leadership.

If you know someone who isn’t an HSU member, show them this newsletter. Let them know that HSU members are having their say. As the largest Union representing Disability Workers across Australia, the HSU is the Union of choice for Northcott employees.

New members can join at www.hsu.asn.au/join or by calling 1300 478 679.

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