News

The VAU has continued to bargain with Ambulance Victoria (AV) for a new enterprise agreement to replace the Ambulance Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2020 which expires on 31 January 2024. To date there has been sixteen meetings. Today the parties discussed a key claim from VAU members – end of shift management.

The VAU claim is to introduce a new framework to run alongside the current ‘reasonable overtime’ clauses which will place restrictions on the ability of AV to send crews to cases that will take crews beyond their rostered finish time.

Claims relating to end of shift management include:

10.3 End of shift management

1. All resources to be taken ‘out of service’ at completion of rostered hours if not currently tasked with a case.

2. Code 1 dispatch warnings applied for the last 60 minutes of any shift.

3. Priority zero dispatch warnings applied 15 minutes before rostered shift completion time.

4. Expand clause 45.1 – requirement to work reasonable overtime (g) to include:

a. The provision of a mandatory back up resource for crews dispatched to a case in the last hour of their shift.

b. oncoming crew logging into a resource that they are not rostered on to will as a priority facilitate end of shift management until they relieve the outgoing shift.

c. The employer will provide vehicles at all branch locations specifically to assist with end of shift management strategies.

Claims relating to incidental overtime include:

10.2 Incidental Overtime

1. Variations to Clause 45.5 to include an option for operational employees to elect to take time off in lieu of overtime penalties and remove all references to a requirement for employer agreement.

2. When an employee is retained on duty to attend a case at the end of a shift for one hour or more they will be paid a minimum of 4 hours at double time, provided that the employee will be released from duty at the completion of the case and will not be required to remain on duty for the full 4 hours.

3. Members paid the equivalent of 2 hours of ordinary time rate of pay if they are on days off and are contacted by Ambulance Victoria (as per FRV Agreement).

4. Clarification that casual employees are entitled to incidental over time penalties after completion of their designated rostered shift finish time. The applicable rates shall be time and a half and double the RIR + casual loading.

5. Clarification of clause 38.17 – notifying about commencing an uncontactable break

a. The commencement and end of a fatigue/uncontactable break will occur from the employee’s residence meaning that travel to the following shift will commence in work time.

6. A fatigue/uncontactable break will be a minimum of 10 hours by default.

a. If an employee’s usual roster includes a 12-hour break between shifts and they incur incidental overtime, then that employee will be entitled to a 12 hour uncontactable break. This is applicable to days, afternoons, and nights.

The parties also discussed other matters including hour counts and permanent part-time. We are still waiting for AV to provide its own log of claims to the union.

Remember, it is the strength of the collective membership and preparedness to take industrial action to achieve outcomes and see improvement to your working conditions.

So please make sure you nominate the VAU as your bargaining representative if you work for AV so you can take part in protected industrial action should that need to occur. Contact us for more information on how you can do this.

In Solidarity!