Last week we wrote to you about your enterprise agreement at Thompson Health Care.

We were concerned that the agreement Thompson had sent to the Fair Work Commission for approval did not contain your higher pay rates that Thompson had offered staff during the voting period.

This meant that if that agreement had been approved, your higher pay rates would not be legally enforceable, and Thompson could reduce your pay to the rate in the enterprise agreement.

We are pleased to report that, following HSU representation, Thompson has formally withdrawn their application for that agreement to be approved. This means that your current enterprise agreement remains in place and Thompson has already passed on the pay increase for 2021.

We want your new enterprise agreement to be approved as soon as possible, but it’s essential that the pay rates in the agreement are accurate and reflect what people voted for.

The HSU has now written to Thompson requesting that your enterprise agreement be redrafted with the following changes:

1. That the pay rates in the Thompson Health Care Enterprise Agreement be amended to reflect the higher wage rates provided to staff for 2021; and
2. That the 2% increase to wage rates offered during bargaining negotiations be applied on those higher rates from July 2022, with another subsequent increase of 2% following that in 2023.

This would provide certainty to staff and would reflect what we understood Thompson’s wage offer to be.

We will update members when we hear a response from Thompson. If you have any questions, please contact your HSU Organiser or the HSU Office.

If your colleagues are not yet HSU members, encourage them to join today at www.hsu.asn.au/join or by calling 1300 478 679.