Industrial Action… 97% of VAHPA members vote YES!

Pictured Above: Tim Flannery is best known for his extraordinary work around climate change and for being Australian of the year in 2007. But did you know that Tim was formerly a successful palaeontologist who discovered dinosaur fossils on the southern cost of Victoria in the 1980s!

VAHPA Members have turned out in huge numbers to vote YES to taking protected industrial action.

The average member turnout was 76% with an incredible 97% voting in favour of action. The Declarations were released late last night by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and are available on an employer-by-employer basis here.

This is an outstanding result and one that all VAHPA members and delegates can be proud of. It is great to see that Members are deeply engaged in the Code Blue campaign and are prepared to engage in the struggle to see the Enterprise Agreement brought into the 21^st Century.

What’s Next?
The Fair Work Act requires us to give at least 3 working days notice to the employers before action can begin. We have provided the relevant employers with the appropriate notification (see here).

Phase 1 Actions, in short, are:

• Wear your Code Blue T-shirt and badge at work every day
• Change your email signature to reflect a campaign message
• Take all your entitled tea breaks and lunch breaks
• Do not perform any unpaid or unauthorised overtime unless it is approved in writing, in advance and paid
• Display campaign posters and flyers in your workplace (including in public areas)
• Display an inflatable Code Blue dinosaur in your workplace or reception area

Please take the time to read up on the details on these actions here.

Actions will begin at 7 am on Wednesday 22 June
You will soon receive a flyer in the mail providing you with further information on these actions. Please use the flyer to promote the actions in your workplace and to facilitate discussions with members and non-members where appropriate. Remember, only VAHPA members can legally take part in the actions.

Stop Work
On Thursday 9 June, public sector delegates from across Victoria met to discuss the progress of the Code Blue campaign and to plan for the coming period. At that meeting a motion directing VAHPA Secretary, Craig McGregor, to call a stop-work meeting (upon the declaration of successful protected industrial action ballots) for 30 June was moved and carried.

This meeting will provide members with a chance to receive feedback on the progress of bargaining, to talk through and plan for the escalation of industrial action (if the meeting considers this necessary) and to demonstrate our industrial strength and solidarity.

The meeting will be held from 1.30pm-2.30pm at Trades Hall in Carlton. Buses will be made available to transport members to and from the stop-work meeting. To book a seat on the bus please click here.

NB – Bass Coast Health & East Grampians Health Service Protected Industrial Action Ballots were unsuccessful.