St John of God Pathology

After many months of little to no progress, SJOG Pathology finally came to a position that Members could agree to. While not ideal, the offer locked in a start date for the first payrise, eliminating the ongoing erosion of benefits that the protracted negotiations were causing.

The Agreement is still being finalised by the three Unions covered (VAHPA, MSAV and HWU) and will incorporate the three underpinning Awards.  These old Awards are still very important as they include clauses that haven’t been transferred to the new Agreement yet, but work has been done to remove the irrelevant or superseded content. The agreement is deliberately short, running for just over 12 months, with the intent to work towards consolidating those Awards into the next agreement.

We are hopeful that this Agreement will go to a vote soon.

Meanwhile, the whole process has been soured by the shock slashing of jobs at SJOG Pathology in Ballarat.  Several Laboratory Technicians and Scientists have been made redundant and services dramatically cut. While the unions led by the MSAV, took SJOG Path to the Fair Work Commission this week, little consolation could be gained. The full implications are still uncertain but with certain job losses the outcome is disastrous for those involved.