QNU Annual Report 08-09.indd - Queensland Nurses Union

Industrial
Strategic objectives:
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Facilitate empowerment of members to achieve their industrial objectives.
Provide effective industrial leadership.
Provide effective representation.
Maintain and improve wages and working conditions.
Work to achieve positive legislative reforms.
After the Your Rights at Work campaign, which led to
the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal
election, the long promised legislation to do away with
the draconian WorkChoices and replace it with a balanced
set of workplace laws will commence on 1 July 2009.
Many QNU members will gain significantly advanced
rights and opportunities in their workplaces under the
Fair Work Act and our challenge now will be to ensure
these new-found rights are upheld.
However, in the interim, it’s been a mixed bag for
industrial negotiations and enterprise bargaining
campaigns in the various sectors with some employers
keen to take advantage of WorkChoices while remnants
of the legislation remained in place over the past year.
Regardless of the employers’ approach, the QNU has
been persistent in our campaigns for improvements to
wages and working conditions in all sectors, with many
enterprise bargaining negotiations currently being
finalised or set to be finalised shortly.
The big picture
The QNU has taken an active role in ensuring a place
for state registered unions in the new federal workplace
system.
Through our direct involvement in discussions at
the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) and the
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) on the
appropriate model to be adopted to allow state registered
unions to operate in the federal system, we have been
able to influence the Fair Work Act in a way that ensures
ongoing, robust nursing unions.
We will continue to work hard to make sure the interests
of members are protected.
For example, the QNU and Queensland Health continue
to meet regularly to progress the creation of a new state
award for Queensland Health nurses and midwives, due to
the move from the federal to the state jurisdiction, as well
as setting terms for any move back to the federal system.
Another key aspect of the federal government’s agenda is
to streamline and simplify Awards through the creation
of modern, national, common rule awards along either
industry or occupational lines.
The QNU has welcomed the Australian Industrial
Relations Commission (AIRC) decision to favour a
nursing occupational award as part of this process.
Following months of campaigning with the Australian
Nursing Federation (ANF), registered nurses, nurse
8 | Annual Report 2008-09 | Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees