In a letter marked Dear staff member, Dorevitch management announced a 1.5% wage increase for MSAV members operative from 27 November 2010.

3.0% in 3.5 years

This 1.5% brings the total of wage increases received by Dorevitch and Gippsland Pathology members since July 2007 to 3%.

After doggedly fighting every effort by members to negotiate fair and reasonable wage increases for the past 3.5 years, Dorevitch management find themselves in a position where all agreements that they put out to staff were resoundingly voted down, because the proposed pay increases were tied to a savage cut in terms and conditions and employee rights.

In October the Union took the company to Fair Work Australia over the company’s refusal to reconstitute the EBA Bargaining Committee under the Mayne Health Dorevitch Enterprise Agreement. This agreement is still legally binding.

In FWA the company agreed to send out a notice calling for nominations to the committee, and have agreed re reopen bargaining. That notice has now gone out to staff. Bargaining is due to commence after the election of employee representatives has been completed.

Then the company decides to pay a 1.5% wage increase to staff in ‘appreciation of [their] contribution and dedication to Dorevitch Pathology.’

We don’t think that the two events are unconnected.

Perhaps Dorevitch and Gippsland Pathology management think that staff won’t connect the dots, and they will try to paint the increase as unconnected with the resumption of bargaining.

Not surprisingly, MSAV members do not regard this increase as either reasonable or an act of goodwill by their management.

In the same period that members at Dorevitch and Gippsland Pathology have received a 3% increase, MSAV members working with other employers the private pathology sector have had wage rates increased by a minimum of 11%.

However MSAV members ‘accept’ the 1.5% as a down payment for fairer and bigger wage increases fixed against operative dates in a new agreement.