Following a month-long dispute, St Vincent’s Health Australia (SVHA) has agreed to reinstate Additional Days Off (ADOs) to nurses and midwives working full time at SVHA facilities.  

After discovering ADOs were not being provided to over 100 nurses and midwives, the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association launched a campaign to have the entitlement reinstated. Members working at SVHA facilities – St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Darlinghurst, Mater Hospital in North Sydney, and St Vincent’s Community Health in Griffith – collected over 70 forms from affected employees, requesting that they receive the entitlement.. 

The entitlement had been in the SVHA enterprise agreement and previous industrial instruments since 1986, however had not been given to members over recent years. 

SVHA management had originally argued that reinstating these rights would be too difficult and had attempted to delay the process. However, after a concerted union campaign, the parties agreed to the reinstatement of ADOs, commencing from October 2022. 

NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, lauded the development as a win for active union members. 

“Active union members are critical to winning and keeping your rights at work,” she said. 

“By speaking up, these members have won their rights to the ADOs they were entitled to.” 

Members at the Mater and Griffith have had ADOs rostered from the 10th of October, with members at Darlinghurst to be rostered from the 17th of October. For further information on the process, please contact the Association here.