You might’ve heard that Calvary are putting your new agreement out to vote, and we want to make sure you’ve got all the facts before making your decision either way.

The good

After months of bargaining, we’ve managed to win some improvements in your offer – including wage increases for all workers based on where you fall in the classification structure, here’s some examples of what you can expect depending on where you fall:

• 4 – 7.1% for personal care workers

• 3.3 – 5.7% for ENs who are med endorsed

• 10 – 11% for RNs

• 4% for cooks

• 27 – 30% for chefs

• 4.4 – 10.9% for clinical care co-ordinators

• 17.8 – 25% for maintenance workers, and

• 11 – 35% for admin workers

The offer also includes your back pay from July 2023, paid at 3.75% once the agreement is registered.

Overall, in terms of wages it’s not a bad offer, and it’s similar to what we’re seeing at other aged care providers at the moment.

For 2024 and 2025, Calvary have offered 3% for each year.

They’ve also updated your allowances to be the same, or better, than the Modern Award – which will see you take home a bit more pay each fortnight.

The bad and the ugly

It’s not all roses. Calvary are still putting forward a number of cuts that we’ve been rallying against, including:

1. More leeway to refuse medical evidence, making it harder for you to use certificates from registered health professionals.

2. Refusal to pay overtime rates on mandatory training. This means that when you’re called back to work overtime, you may not be entitled to overtime rates of pay for training.

3. Slashes to redundancy entitlements on a ‘’grandfathered’’ basis. Meaning new employees will receive smaller redundancy entitlements than current staff, creating inequity between workers.

4. Greater discretion to direct you to work at either Sandhill or Riverside (but still only after consulting with you). Our worry is that it would disadvantage workers who do not have a personal vehicle.

5. Cuts to nurses' personal leave from 23 days down to 20 days per year.

There are some positives in the wages and allowances, but as you’ve seen there’s also some trade-offs too.

Now, we need you to have a think about what you’re willing to accept, and to make sure you vote and have your say. Your vote is crucial, and however you vote is up to you – but either way, we’ll back you in.

If you’ve got questions about the offer or you need some more information before you vote, please make sure you get in touch with us on 1300 880 032 so we can help!