Regis have decided to put your agreement out to vote, and if this offer is voted up, it would make you some of the lowest-paid aged care workers in Australia. We have never bargained with a more disgraceful employer whose sole intention is to make money at your expense.

Shockingly, their offer is even worse than the one you voted down in December 2022.

They are offering care workers, general staff and ENs a pathetic 2% wage increase for 2023 and 2024, whereas previously you were offered 5% in the first year followed by 2.5 % increases. They don’t recognise or care that you haven’t had a negotiated pay rise since January 2021 and make no attempt to backpay you for all the wage increases you have lost because of their anti-worker attitude.

To make matters worse, Regis also intend to take away your meal break allowance.

They are also increasing maximum shift lengths to 10 hours without your agreement. That means you’ll only get paid overtime after working 10 hours in a day rather than 8.

They also want to bring in a morning shift that starts before midday which is paid at a 10% penalty, and we have grave fears that they will try to get the majority of work done on this shift which would then negate your 15% afternoon shift penalty.

If all this isn’t bad enough, you will now need to get a doctor’s certificate if you are sick on a Monday or Friday to prove that you’re genuinely sick.

Regis are going to try and bribe you by offering you a bonus payment which would be less than what most workers would be entitled to if backpay was paid correctly.

While Regis buy up other aged care facilities on mainland Australia and line the pockets of their rich list owners, they expect you to be happy being one of Australia’s lowest-paid aged care workers. It’s a disgusting example of corporate greed gone haywire, all while you battle to pay your rent and mortgage and put food on the table. You deserve much better than this!

This total disregard for you – their hard-working and loyal workforce – is disgraceful, and it leaves you with no option other than to Vote NO.

The ballot access period will be starting from tomorrow 13 December and the vote will open at 6am on Thursday 21 December, closing at 3pm on Friday 22 December 2023.

We’ll be out visiting you over the next 2 weeks to talk about the appalling offer.

It looks like taking industrial action may be the only way to make Regis listen.

Please watch for meeting dates when a HACSU organiser will be at your workplace.

Now is the time for us to unite our collective strength and show Regis we won’t back down.

There is power in numbers. If you know of colleagues who are not HACSU members yet, you can encourage them to join online here: https://join.hacsu.org.au/