AMAV VICDOC SUMMER 2023 - Magazine - Page 61
Feedback from members during this
round of bargaining highlighted the
need for improved and more easily
enforceable conditions rather than
focusing on salary increases.
If you have a workplace
relations issue you would
like to discuss, please contact
amavic@amavic.com.au
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During this time AMA/ASMOF
will be running a series of
education webinars, developing
fact sheets, trialing podcasts,
and running face to face
meetings to talk through the
most significant changes and
how they can be enforced. This
transition phase is when one or
two unexpected consequences
of changes occur (that one or
other of the parties did not
foresee) and so there are likely
to be some clauses that will
need to be taken to Fair Work
in order get an independent
view of how the clause should
be interpreted. This is common
and happened with the current
agreements in relation to Clinical
Support Time and Continuing
Medical Education Allowances
for Specialists.
The State Government has
also committed to a ministerial
review of workloads and out of
hours work for doctors, a very
topical issue. This review is to
take place within 6 months of
the agreements being approved.
We hope this will see further
improvements to conditions
outside of the agreements,
with any such improvements
incorporated into the next
agreement’s log of claims so
that they are enforceable in
the future.
Bargaining for new terms and
conditions should be viewed as
an evolution not a revolution. In
a negotiation it is rare that one
party gets everything that they
want — in fact, every outcome
is a compromise. Even after
significant industrial action there
will always be a compromise
reached. For example, currently
fractional (part time) doctors are
paid a different hourly rate than
full time Specialists and we are
trying to move all specialists to
the same rate of pay. While all
parties agreed in bargaining that
the situation is incongruous,
the cost of such a change was
seen as too high to afford all in
one go. It was agreed to make a
small change straight away and
then use the Ministerial review
process to work out the cost of
moving all doctors across to the
fractional rates and plan how to
make it happen.
If you have been reading this
article thinking, that sounds
great, but I don’t work in the
public system so that doesn’t
help me, you are correct if you
are a self employed GP but if
you are not and you are paid
as a contractor or even as an
employee at a private hospital
this transition to new terms
and conditions will have a flow
on effect. The public system
is the biggest employer of
doctors in the state and as such
has the critical mass to set
the benchmark for terms and
conditions for other employers
who recognize that they may
have to match it if they want to
keep their doctors.
AMA/ASMOF is constantly
looking for ways to better
improve working conditions
for doctors and we already
have the beginnings of a log of
claims to continue to build on
the improvements made during
this round of bargaining. We can
only achieve good outcomes
in bargaining if we have active
and engaged members so I
would encourage you all to be
part of the next negotiations
by attending any meetings and
giving us your feedback.
Together we bargain,
divided we beg.
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VI CD O C SPRI N G 2022
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