- Stop work rallies: Friday 2 August outside Bolton Clarke Glendale (265 Heaths Road, Werribee) and Friday 9 August outside Bolton Clarke Rosebrook (441 Waterfall Gully Road, Rosebud)
- At home services nurses ban assessment and admission of new clients (with some exclusions)
ANMF members employed as nurses, personal care workers and midwives at Bolton Clarke will escalate their protected industrial action this week as part of their campaign for respectful and fair wage increases.
Nurses at Bolton Clarke’s at home nursing service will ban the assessment and admission of new clients, excluding clients with personal alarms, palliative care, oncology and paediatrics, from 7am Wednesday 31 July.
Nurses, midwives and personal care workers will also start rolling two-hour stop-work rallies scheduled each Friday, 1pm to 3pm during August and September.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) Lisa Fitzpatrick said: ‘Nurses, midwives and personal care workers are escalating their industrial action with a heavy heart because Bolton Clarke is not listening and continues to take advantage of their caring nature.
‘We’d like to reassure Bolton Clarke’s aged care residents, clients and their families that there may be some disruption or inconvenience for management, but there will be no risk to health, welfare and safety.
‘The aged care royal commission found employers, the government and unions had to work together to increase wages to strengthen employers’ ability to recruit and retain a skilled workforce.
‘The Albanese Government has provided Bolton Clarke with millions of dollars for increased wages and to pay for enough staff to implement the daily mandated 200 care minutes for each resident.
‘ANMF has made a successful aged care wage case in the Fair Work Commission fully funded by the government.
‘Meanwhile Bolton Clarke is working to suppress wage increases for current staff and cutting wages for new staff so nurses and carers will be earning different pay for the same work,’ Ms Fitzpatrick said.
For the past 18 months, the ANMF (Vic Branch) has been negotiating wages and conditions on behalf of about 1700 members working across Bolton Clarke’s 22 residential aged care facilities, at-home nursing program, Homeless Persons Nursing Program and maternal and child health line.
Bolton Clarke’s Victorian aged care facilities are located across Melbourne, Geelong and the Mornington Peninsula.
After initially making a zero per cent wage offer, Bolton Clarke has offered a one-year agreement with a two per cent pay increase on some of the lowest rates in Victoria and a new lower pay rate scale for new employees. ANMF is seeking improved conditions and a minimum four per cent increase to match the wages of more competitive aged care providers.
Members began stage one protected industrial action on Monday 15 July, including wearing red campaign t-shirts at work; talking about their campaign with residents, clients, the media and the community; writing campaign messages on work cars; a ban on redeployment; and administrative and non-clinical documentation bans.
Bolton Clarke, Australia’s largest not-for-profit aged care provider, wrote to ANMF on 11 July foreshadowing it would ‘take employer response action under section 411 of the Fair Work Act, by way of lockout.’
The major national Queensland-based organisation formed in 2016 when RSL Care in Queensland merged with Victoria’s Royal District Nursing Service. In 2022 it acquired 22 Allity and McKenzie nursing homes in Victoria.
About us:
The ANMF (Vic Branch) has more than 100,000 members – nurses, midwives and aged care personal care workers – across the Victorian health, mental health and aged care sectors.
Contact details:
Robyn Asbury 0417 523 252 │ rasbury@anmfvic.asn.au