We met with Healius late last week for the first time in over a month, where they came back to the bargaining table with a wages offer.
What they’ve proposed is a two-year agreement, rather than the three years that we were shooting for, with a wage offer that they’re saying ‘averages’ 7% in 2024 (backpaid to July 2024) and 3% flat in the following year.
There’s a bit to unpack with this offer however, and while 7% sounds glossy, we need some more information from Healius about how this works for Tasmanian staff who are coming across from the award.
Our main concern is that the rates outlined in the Queensland agreement have fallen below the Fair Work award increases in some pay points. While Healius is paying above the award and have rectified this, it looks like the headline 7% that they’re claiming is actually much smaller given they’re already paying the award rates that are higher than those proscribed in the classification structure that they’ve run their maths on.
In other words, the way they’ve sold it inflates how much we think you’ll actually see. You’ll still be better than the award, but we don’t think you’ll be 7% better.
The other important thing to know is that the 7% ‘average’ also only applies to collectors, and what they’re proposing is a 6% ‘average’ wage rise for couriers and 4% flat for everyone else.
It’s a strange set up, because what they’re saying about the averaged pay rises is that they are dependent on your pay point in the classification structure, with some of the increases in the collector stream for instance sitting around 6%, and some closer to 7.5%.
Healius says this is to target pay points where they need to attract and retain staff who tend to leave after they’ve finished their training. We think it’s positive that they’re recognising the high turnover rates, but again we’re not completely buying what they’re selling in terms of the increases.
We’ve sought the translation document for Tasmanian staff, a wage table about how each classification breaks down with the increases, as well as the final list of your claims that they’ve accepted or not accepted so we can provide this to you, and you can make an informed decision about the offer.
Healius has indicated to us that they’ll look to put the agreement out to vote at the end of this month, but with this much murkiness about what exactly you’re being offered at this stage we’d strongly advise you to reject this deal.
If you’ve got any questions or concerns, feel free to call us on 1300 880 032 or flick an email to [email protected] so we can put your feedback to Healius.