Your agreement was recently approved by the Fair Work Commission and comes into effect next Wednesday 23 August.

This means that you should get your pay rise in the next pay period after the agreement kicks in. And the backpay will follow suit, hitting your account the following week.

The latest round of bargaining was not easy – and you were forced to consider industrial action because of Calvary’s constant delays.

Even though it’s disappointing that Calvary wouldn’t move on the additional 6 months of backpay we were pushing for, we still can’t underestimate how much of an achievement it is that you all took a stand and forced them back to the table.

Your campaign won low paid workers either a $50 per week increase or a 3% wage rise (whatever is higher). This means that workers who get the $50 will actually see an increase of 4-5% – which is much better than Calvary’s initial miserly 2.5%.

To ensure the best for you, we pointed out to the FWC a few things in the agreement that we did not believe complied with the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT). As a result, Calvary was called upon to provide some undertakings to the Commission to address those concerns.

You’ve also managed to lock in the following conditions:

• Protection of your penalty rates when you’re doing training

• Proper recognition of the certificates held by workers in CSD and Theatre

• More pay points for operational workers

• Increases to family and domestic violence leave

If you’ve got questions about the new agreement or need more information, please make sure you get in touch with us on HACSUassist at 1300 880 032 or via email on assist@hacsu.org.au