Long time readers of the Stat Report will remember the time when Eastern Health was regularly mentioned in dispatches – but for all the wrong reasons. Now Austin Health may be taking over the mantle.

A conference was held in the AIRC yesterday to discuss AH’s proposal to change the pattern of working afternoon shift in microbiology, following the refusal of scientists to work the changed roster. The roster was posted without consultation, despite three meetings with management at which solutions were put forward by scientists to the perceived problems with the existing roster. Austin Health then notified the Commission that there was a dispute.

As the matter did not get beyond an exchange of views (with the scientists opposed to a roster cycle of 5 nights in a row), the issue will now go to the AIRC for mediation on Thursday next week, 21 June 2007. AH has admitted that they are 8EFT scientists short in microbiology, but have only advertised 2 positions.

For the first time that we can remember, Austin Health refused to allow our job representatives paid time to attend the AIRC conference.  A new (and unreasonable) ‘hard line’ seems to be being adopted for some reason. When we pointed out in the AIRC that our certified agreement explicitly provides job representatives with paid leave to deal with industrial issues, AH reluctantly backed down.