Industrial News 2008

July 2008

Award modernisation process underway

A new award system will form part of the Rudd Government’s overhaul of federal industrial relations laws due to commence in 2010. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) is undertaking a review and rationalisation of existing awards to ensure they provide a fair minimum safety net of enforceable award conditions.

The AIRC is seeking the views of interested parties and the ANF has participated in the consultation processes arguing forcefully that nurses should be covered by a specific nursing award. Some employer groups in the aged care sector, with the support of the Health Services Union and the Liquor and Hospitality Miscellaneous Union, have argued that nurses should be consumed in an industry award covering all employees.

In response to this proposal the ANF has argued that an aged care industry award would disadvantage employees, reduce standards of care and further reduce the likelihood that employers would be able to attract and retain qualified nurses. There are many reasons why nurses should be covered by nursing occupation awards rather than industry awards. The industrial history of nursing supports this. Nursing staff have a strong occupational identity and don’t want to be covered by industry awards involving multiple employee classifications.

In the early 1990s a nationally consistent industry standard in nursing wages and employment conditions was established. These common conditions were broadly based on evidence that nurses should be paid according to their qualifications, experience and levels of responsibility rather than the sector in which they worked.

Nursing awards today have their own internal relativities which are part of an integrated classification structure and, along with salary related conditions form part of a comprehensive matrix of award matters which remain critically important to tens of thousand of nurses. As a profession nurses also strongly identify with each other regardless of the sector in which they work. There are also sound public policy reasons to maintain nursing in occupation awards, including:

• recognition of the volatility and high mobility within nursing labor markets, particularly at times of nursing shortages;
• the growing incidence of interstate and national nursing employers; and
• the consistency of training and regulatory arrangements for nurses.

The AIRC is in the process of considering the views of the parties and is expected to decide on these and other issues towards the end of June 2008. The Commission will also embark on a series of public consultations which will provide an opportunity for members of the community, including nurses, to put their views. The ANF will be encouraging nurses to participate in this process with a view to protecting their identity in a new industrial relations system.

Nick Blake
ANF Senior Federal Industrial Officer