Dear Member,

Your HSU bargaining committee met with Opal management on Thursday to discuss what needs to change in the current offer to gain the support of HSU members.

There have been no further proposed changes to the wages offer, as outlined in our previous update.

However, management proposed to introduce a new entitlement in relation to your demand for fairer leave, a ‘Pooled Serious Injury, Illness, and Emergency Leave Fund’.

Under the proposal, if an employee has a serious or life-threatening illness, an injury, or accident, and has exhausted their personal leave, they are eligible to make an application to access 7,000 hours that is pooled across all Opal employees.

There is nothing wrong with Opal’s proposal - however, what your worker-led HSU bargaining committee is fighting for, is to address the daily problems that members face every day. Catching covid, gastro or the flu is not treated like an ‘emergency’ in facilities, it’s a common occurrence.

More than 60 per cent of Opal workers said they had to use other leave to cover being, according to a recent survey conducted by the HSU bargaining committee. More than half had to go without pay due to having no personal leave.

This is what HSU members are campaigning to fix!

Your bargaining committee will be meeting with Opal this Thursday, 4 July where Opal will be responding to HSU members’ feedback.

Encourage your workmates to join the HSU. Together you have strength in your workplace. New members can join online at www.hsu.asn.au/join or call 1300 478 679.