Yesterday HACSU members attended the Yooralla Big Day Out to stand up for fairness and say NO to Yooralla’s offer to CUT DSW pay and conditions.

HACSU members’ good will and commitment was highlighted in our survey results, members identified they:

Help ensure that 3.6 million (30%) working Australians are not penalised for saving for their retirement.

Let's keep the pressure on the Napthine Government to demand Certainty for Sandhurst. Please sign our petition and share with your family and friends.

For more information on the Certainty for Sandhurst campaign go to certaintyforsandhurst.org and also "like" our Facebook page.

A few weeks ago we launched our “It’s about time” education campaign for DHS disability members. As part of this we sent members a fact sheet detailing member entitlements.

Thursday 1 May, outside Damien Drum’s office, 239 Barnard St, Bendigo. Let’s send a message to the Napthine Government that we want Certainty for Sandhurst! Wear red or dark blue.

Rally THIS Wednesday!
12pm, Wednesday 19 February on the steps of Parliament House, Spring St, Melbourne

Support CWU to prevent the privatisation of Australia Post.

Follow the links below:

Facebook: Communication Workers' Union

Website: Communication Workers' Union

Youtube: Communications Union TV

More than 200 days have passed since the Napthine Government announced the closure of Sandhurst and the contracting out of its services. Yet staff are still waiting for certainty around their future.

Sandhurst workers will meet tomorrow to discuss growing concerns over the Napthine Government’s handling of the facility’s closure, then take these concerns to management to demand certainty for residents, staff and families.

Bargaining continues with Yooralla, with the last meeting occurring on 22 April. Unfortunately recent changes with HSU officials continue to delay the progress of negotiations.

The parties are scheduled to meet again on 5 June, when Yooralla has committed to providing the unions with a wage increase offer.

HACSU recently met with EWTF CEO Graeme Kelly and HR to discuss the renegotiation of the EWTF and Vista enterprise agreements and EWTF’s strategic plan. The EWTF and Vista agreements will be merged into one collective agreement.

The ACTU Time to Care campaign is aimed at lobbying the Commonwealth Government to "enshrine a more enforceable ‘right to request’ flexible work in order to meet their family or caring responsibilities".

Currently, the Fair Work Act allows workers to request flexible work arrangements in order to meet their family or caring responsibilities, however they can be denied on business grounds. What the submission includes is extra protections for workers who make a request for flexible arrangements, but are denied, such as:

• outline the process by which workers should consider such a request, and
• provide an appeal mechanism for workers where their employer does not genuinely consider, or unreasonably refuses, the request.

Parliament will be considering this submission in the next couple of weeks.

HACSU urges all members to send an email to their Federal Member of Parliament and tell them to support the ACTU's submission.

The State Liberal Government has kicked off its contracting out of services agenda with the announcement of the closure of Sandhurst Centre, with new community services to be contracted out to external providers.

It remains unclear if the government’s intention is to move service provision into the NGO community sector or into the private for profit sector. Either way HACSU does not support the contracting out of DHS disability direct care that will lead to reduced pay, conditions and staffing ratios.

After over nine months of campaigning for a new agreement, Department of Human Services (DHS) disability workers have won their industrial campaign for a fair pay outcome, maintenance of their rights and conditions and resources to deal with staffing and workload issues. “After nine months of negotiations, we are pleased to finally secure a resolution for our members”, says Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) State Secretary Lloyd Williams.

Disability workers from Bendigo and across the Loddon Mallee region will hold a protest today at 1pm outside the office of Damian Drum, 239 Barnard Street, Bendigo. The protest will highlight the most significant attack on workers wages and conditions in this sector over the last 15 years.

The Baillieu Government has failed its attempt to convince Fair Work Australia (FWA) to intervene and suspend public sector disability support workers taking protected industrial action.

Department of Human Services (DHS) disability workers will welcome Members of Parliament arriving for the State Parliament sitting in Ballarat today to highlight their campaign for a fair disability services enterprise agreement.

Department of Human Services (DHS) disability workers across Victoria are set to implement the first phase of an industrial and community campaign to support their enterprise bargaining claims.