Your mounting collective actions are working, and Southern Cross Care are now panicking. They’ve engaged an industrial firm at their own expense to make an application to the Fair Work Commission to try to stop you from taking legally protected collective action. It’s disappointing that they’re trying to suppress you rather than sitting down and talking to you.

Although the bans being implemented are specifically targeted at management and have minimal impact on residents, SCC are trying to spin it to the FWC that your bans will “pose an immediate and severe health risk to residents”. But they did not oppose the bans when asked by the FWC prior to you voting on them, and they also have been given six days’ notice of the bans commencing.

So why is SCC acting in this way? The answer is simple: you are making a difference and they are angry that you are standing up to them. They intend to intimidate you and want you to just accept massive cuts to your wages and conditions.

HACSU will vigorously defend your right to take action to protect your rights. If SCC genuinely don’t want this action to go ahead, we have made it clear that all they need to do is sit down with your HACSU bargaining team and withdraw their threat to cut your wages and conditions.

Let’s hope they see some sense and act reasonably, but if they don’t, we need to continue to prepare for the additional bans commencing Wednesday.

We expect a hearing from the FWC shortly and will update you as soon as this happens. In the meantime, current bans still apply. Well done for sticking together and making an impact!