After six months of negotiations and 12 months of drafting, the new consolidated public sector enterprise agreement is almost ready to be put to ballot. We have reached agreement with the DHS and VHIA on a process for balloting and certification as follows:

• 18 December 2009 Employees to be given access to the draft Agreement. This could be by email on your work Intranet or through distribution of printed copies. We will place the document on the members’ pages of our web site but this does not absolve the employer of the obligation to distribute it.
  
  
• 18 – 29 January 2010 Employees to be balloted on a day within this two weeks.  The vote will be conducted in much the same manner as has occurred in the past with each health service determining the form of the ballot. For the most part, voting will be by show of hands. In some instances arrangements for a postal or email ballot may be necessary. Please check with your HR Department for details about the procedure in your workplace, including how people absent on the day will be accommodated. The Act requires that every eligible employee be given access to the proposed agreement and the opportunity to vote whether they are part-time, shift workers or on annual leave.

NB: Unlike our previous agreements, this is to be a multi-employer agreement; .i.e. there will be one agreement with a list of employers attached to whom it will apply. The Act requires an affirmative vote at each individual work site which is to be covered by the Agreement. This means that a majority of people voting must vote yes. (However it does not mean that a majority of people to be covered by the Agreement have to vote). This could be a problem in small services such as community health centres where there may be only one person to be covered by the Agreement (Such as a dietitian or a psychologist).

Members in CHCs therefore need to be particularly vigilant that they are given the opportunity to vote. If there is no ballot between 18 – 29 January in a workplace for any reason the Agreement will not apply at that workplace. In this case a late ballot would need to be held and separate application made to the Commission. This could create months of delay.

Remember this is a process to protect your rights at work. The Agreement encompasses your salary and conditions of employment. It is not legally enforceable until you have voted on it and it has been approved by the Commission. Until this time enforcement of your employment conditions may be difficult and expensive.