NSWNMA members at Opal aged care facilities have won an improved pay increase, more sick leave and an agreement to ensure the company complies with its care minutes obligations.

Opal HealthCare is Australia’s biggest for-profit aged care provider with 47 nursing homes across NSW.

The company initially offered an

8.25 per cent pay increase over three years as part of a new enterprise agreement (EA).

Opal employees rejected the offer following a ‘Vote No’ campaign led by the NSWNMA, which argued for a pay increase above inflation.

It was the first time Opal nurses and carers had voted down a company- proposed EA.

The ‘No’ vote was followed by another first, when NSWNMA members voted 92 per cent in favour of taking industrial action for a better deal.

Industrial action did not go ahead because employees voted to accept an improved offer from the company.

The offer included:

Pay increases over three years totalling 9.75 per cent for registered and enrolled nurses, and up to 10.2 per cent for assistants in nursing

Three days paid infectious disease leave

Insertion of a care minutes clause in the EA and compliance with care minutes to be written into the existing Standard Roster and Workloads Management clauses.

‘COURAGEOUS ACTION’ LED TO IMPROVEMENTS

NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish said members ran a strong campaign that achieved a lot more than the company wanted to give them.

“It was courageous member action, and strong leadership by your union bargaining team, that put pressure on Opal to make improvements following the first vote,” Shaye said.

She described the care minutes clause as a significant win.

“Understaffing and care minutes have been a key issue for our members throughout this campaign,” she said.

“Getting the mandatory care minutes written into the EA will help our members to ensure that the employer sticks to them.

“The NSWNMA achieved 30 per cent membership growth and built 10 new branches through this campaign, which puts our members in a good position to tackle these issues.”

Umesh Humagain, NSWNMA delegate at Wallarah Point Care Community on the Central Coast, said Opal was holding back more than 12 months backpay when employees voted to accept the company’s improved offer.

Umesh said many workers mistakenly believed they would miss out on back pay if the company offer was voted down.

“Most people are going through a cost-of-living crisis and they took the view that something is better than nothing,” he said.

CHRONICALLY UNDERSTAFFED

He said members are concerned that non-nursing duties such as catering are being counted when calculating the mandatory 200 minutes of direct care per resident per day.

“Aged care providers need to have enough staff to meet the 200 care minutes and that is easier for us to enforce when it is written into the EA.

“That can be our next campaign focus.

“We are chronically understaffed and the residents deserve a deserve better level of care than what they are getting.

“This is not the end of our campaign; it is just the beginning.”

Umesh said several new members joined the NSWNMA at his facility during the campaign.

“I explained to them it is much more effective if we speak to management as a group, rather than as individuals,” he said.

“Management should not consider the union to be an opponent.

“Our motive is delivering quality care and if management has the same aim, let’s work together.”