Australia, July 10 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on June 11:

1. The Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation ('ASMOF') and the Health Secretary have each made application or applications for an award or awards covering doctors employed in the New South Wales Health Service. The Health Services Union ('HSU') is an applicant or a respondent to each of these applications. The applications raise a large number of very significant issues of varying complexity and have been programmed for arbitration before a Full Bench of the Commission. The parties estimate that the hearing will take 8 weeks. Having regard to that estimate, the demands on the resources of the Commission and the volume of work required to be undertaken by the parties, no hearing dates have yet been set.

2. Through the better part of 2024 the parties engaged in mutual gains bargaining but were unable to reach agreement.

3. Over the past weeks the Commission has conducted conciliation conferences and directed other private discussions between the parties in an effort to reduce the number of issues which need to be arbitrated. There is no doubt that, despite progress in achieving that end, there are issues which will require arbitration.

4. One issue which will be arbitrated is that of rates of pay. During the course of the conciliation, the Health Secretary has made an offer of interim pay increases of 3% with effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2024 and a further 3% to take effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025. The offer is made on the condition that ASMOF and the HSU commit that they will not engage in any industrial action until any decisions finalising the matters are issued. That is the only condition attached to the offer.

5. The Health Secretary is under no illusion that her offer will satisfy the demands of ASMOF and does not seek to curtail or avoid the arbitration. Nor does the Health Secretary expect to, in any sense, bind the Commission as to the outcome of the arbitration.

6. Notwithstanding these considerations ASMOF is reticent to accept the offer.

7. For a number of reasons, which I will now briefly list, I have decided to recommend to ASMOF and its members that they accept the offer. The considerations I have in mind are:

1) it is a major argument advanced by ASMOF in support of its claims that improved rates and conditions are necessary to make working in the New South Wales Public Health System sufficiently competitive with other jurisdictions and the private sector so as to retain and attract quality staff;

2) it is consistent with ASMOF's argument that rates of pay in New South Wales should not suffer, to the extent it can be avoided, by comparison with other jurisdictions. While the offer is not regarded by ASMOF as sufficient to answer completely its contention, it has, at least, a mitigating effect upon the perceived problem pending the completion of conciliation and arbitration;

3) ASMOF is not constrained in any way from prosecuting its case in the arbitration; and

4) Although the Commission is not being asked to make an interim award I note it is not inconsistent with interim increases awarded to other public sector employees. [1]

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1975d510c5742de05418470b)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.