Dear member, in May the LHMU lodged a low paid bargaining application with Fair Work Australia (FWA).  It is understood the LHMU is seeking a 60% increase in the wages of low paid workers in residential aged care.   Under the new industrial relations legislation multi-employer bargaining can be negotiated for low paid workers who have not had access to, or have difficulty in bargaining.  The LHMU argues that the low paid employees of the aged care employers named in the application have not had access to collective bargaining or face substantial difficulty bargaining. 

As such many of you will have recently received advice from the LHMU naming your organisation as respondents to their application before FWA.   The union is currently meeting with employers to discuss their application and seek employer support.  It is also promoting a Deed which would see employers commit to a range of conditions which are extraneous to the low paid application.  ACQ has met with the LHMU Qld secretary to understand their position and the ACQ Workforce Relations Committee has also considered the application at its recent meeting on 3 June.  

While ACQ supports the payment of appropriate wages to all workers in the aged care industry, and particularly the low-paid, we are acutely aware of the serious financial restraints on members.  The failure of the Federal Government to adequately fund the industry over many years has severely impacted the ability of service providers to raise the remuneration of low-paid workers.  The LHMU recognises the Government’s failure in this regard and has included DOHA in its application - a novel step, allowed for the first time under FWA. 

ACQ has serious concerns about the Deed being promoted by the LHMU and advises members to exercise caution and obtain specific industrial relations advice before entering into such an undertaking.  We also advise members who have collective agreements in place and have been inappropriately identified in the application to FWA to advise the LHMU accordingly.  To be economically viable the proposed wage increases must be tied to the department funding aged care at an appropriate level. 

The national employer peaks, ACSA and ACAA (and each of their respective State and Territory branches) have appointed legal counsel to represent the industry at the FWA hearings on this matter.  The first hearing was held on 28 May and the matter has been stood over until 15 June.  FWA did not deal with any details concerning the application on 28 May as the union had not properly served their application on all named respondents. The LHMU are seeking to have the matter heard in the first week of August 2010 and the national peaks will be seeking an alternative timetable. Please note that ACQ does not hold any authority to formally represent individual employers in these proceedings but rather is promoting the interests of our industry in Qld generally. 

We will be continuing to inform members of any developments as this matter progresses.