November 2019
As you may be aware, in August AMA Victoria took the unusual step of lodging a dispute with every individual health service covered by the AMA Specialist Enterprise Agreement. This step was taken after a year of frustration at the lack of progress in the implementation of new clauses in the agreement, along with long-running disputes over the interpretation of long service leave entitlements. It was also an attempt to bind all the parties to the agreement to the outcomes of the disputes.
Given the unique nature of the compendium dispute, it has taken longer than we would normally expect to have the matter listed by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). We have had some push back from the health services through their representative, the Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association (VHIA), regarding our ability to run this type of dispute on jurisdictional grounds. They are claiming we should not be able to involve health services not directly involved in the individual disputes which we cited as examples to illustrate the issues.
The first hearing on the matter took place on Wednesday 29 October. AMA Victoria made it clear to the FWC that we feel the VHIA have been creating barriers in the lead-up to the hearing. We had a number of meetings and exchanges of letters over the matter where we asked the VHIA to confirm their positions and views on the matters, however, the VHIA continues to argue over technicalities and jurisdiction.
Whilst we believed that all the matters should have been arbitrated at the hearing on 29 October, we agreed to a day of conciliation on 21 November. At this meeting, we will attempt to negotiate a resolution to the issues with clinical support time and continuing medical education and discuss a way forward for the other matters.
We will continue to keep our members updated on the progress of the compendium dispute, but if you have any questions, please contact the AMA Victoria Workplace Relations team on (03) 9280 8722.
Meanwhile, all Victorian doctors-in-training are currently being asked to participate in the 2019 Hospital Health Check survey. The information provided allows AMA Victoria to engage with health services and government to demand specific changes to working conditions and hospital culture.
Grant Forsyth
General Manager Workplace Relations
September 2019
As doctors will be aware, AMA Victoria and ASMOF Victoria have lodged a collective dispute involving all 37 health services covered by the Medical Specialists Enterprise Agreement 2018 in relation to a number of ongoing disputes. We have described this as a ‘compendium dispute’ and it is the first of its kind in the medical space in Victoria.
The eight matters in dispute are:
- Long service leave entitlements of fractional specialists who are concurrently employed by two or more health services.
- The continuity of service for long service leave purposes of doctors who are on zero hours casual contracts but have not worked any hours whilst on that contract.
- The calculation of continuous service for the purpose of long service leave entitlements when part of the service is interstate service.
- The date upon which a specialist is considered to have become a specialist, for the purpose of determining the remuneration level of the specialist.
- The service, including periods of leave, of specialists which health services will take into account for the purpose of determining the remuneration level of the specialist.
- The interpretation and application and implementation by health services of Clinical Support Time (CST).
- The interpretation and application and implementation by health services of Continuing Medical Education (CME) support.
- The entitlement of doctors to be paid for a public holiday which falls on a day on which the doctor is not rostered to work.
The first hearing of the AMA/ASMOF Victoria compendium dispute was held at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Thursday 5 September. This hearing was an opportunity for the parties to outline their respective positions in relation to the dispute. The Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association (VHIA) put to the Commissioner that they did not believe the AMA/ASMOF had exhausted all avenues in the dispute process in the agreement and therefore the Commission should not yet be able to decide on the majority of the issues raised in the dispute. The AMA/ASMOF Victoria do not agree with this and believe that we have satisfied the requirements under the dispute’s procedures.
The Commissioner has given the parties until 30 September to submit their views in writing as to how the matter should proceed. The Commissioner will then make a decision on what parts of the compendium dispute he believes can go straight to arbitration and what should be conciliated. Conciliation is the step before arbitration, but it is not binding on the parties and does not set a precedent in most cases.
AMA/ASMOF Victoria had initially been willing to agree that some of the eight matters may have been able to be resolved through conciliation, but we have since concluded that there is little likelihood of this occurring and have written to the Commissioner to express our preference for arbitration on all matters. However, the decision on whether or not to go directly to arbitration rests with the Commissioner.
We will report back again after our next hearing in October, but in the meantime if you have any questions please feel free to contact the AMA Victoria Workplace Relations team on (03) 9280 8722.
Grant Forsyth
General Manager, Workplace Relations
July 2019
On 31 July, members of AMA Victoria / ASMOF met to be updated on current disputes with Victorian health services. AMA Victoria intends to lodge a “compendium” dispute with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that will cover:
- Clinical support time
- Continued medical education allowance
- Long service leave entitlements
- Progression to specialists classification
We already have disputes lodged with FWC regarding superannuation payments for specialists and training time for doctors in training.
At last night's meeting, two resolutions were passed unanimously:
- Support for the compendium dispute
- A call on AMA Victoria / ASMOF to explore a collective action that doctors can take to support the dispute.
See resolutions
Media reports have suggested that these disputes are a result of hospital funding issues, however AMA Victoria / ASMOF believe that our members have a right to receive their full legal entitlements. Any funding issues are for the health services and the government to resolve.