REPORT ON THE ALLIED HEALTH OSD NEGOTIATIONS HELD ON THE 14 OCTOBER 2010 AT THE PHSDSBC.
- INTRODUCTION
It was in this meeting that the employer managed to get a proper mandate to respond to all issues we had raised with them as at the 2 June 2010. In the follow up meeting held on the 24 October 2010 such a mandate was not there and we were on the brink of declaring a dispute when the employer then asked for the last extension to solicit it’s mandate. The trade unions in the PHSDSBC agreed to give the employer the last extension of 3weeks which took to the 14th October 2010 exactly 1 year since the employer tabled their signed final offer. Therefore this meeting could not have come at the right time than now, especially when our Principals had agreed to the closure of the OSDs chapter by 30 June 2009. The four areas as per the revised labour’s submission and the responses of the employer to the same will be reflected hereunder as follows;
- NEGOTIATION PROGRESS
2.1 RECOGNITION OF EXPERIENCE
The concern raised is that the model provides for a less favourable dispensation for the members in this cluster while the other OSDs recognized experience in such a way that seniors and juniors are not largely moved to the same notches upon translation into OSD. Therefore there is a need to create a better system to recognize experience in an acceptable way.
EMPLOYER RESPONSE
The grade 3 will now be opened for translation through recognition of experience for those above 20years as opposed to capping the recognition only up to grade 2 and leaving grade 3 for future progression.
2.2 RECOGNITION OF SPECIALTY QUALIFICATIONS
The concern is that the employer again is discriminating against the Allied group by wanting Provinces to identify the need then create the Specialty posts when they are ready, as experience has taught us that it will not happen unless the Agreement is clear when this should happen. The other thing is that in other OSDs the Specialties translated without any creation of posts by Province i.e. Nursing and Medicine, so this would disadvantage the Allied Health group. The demand therefore is that all those who are registered with their boards with qualifications considered as Specialties should translate immediately upon implementation.
EMPLOYER’S RESPONSE
Only those who are registered Radiographers in the discipline Nuclear medicine, Ultra-Sonography, Mammography and Radiotherapy would be allowed to translate to specialty. Others would have to sort out their registration with the respective Boards and then get on to the posts through the open market competition in terms of Human Resource practices.
2.3 ENTRY LEVEL SALARY FOR PROFESSIONALS
The entry level here is pitched at R130.000 excluding the Cost of Living Adjustment ‘’COLA’’ for 2009/10 and the professionals in this cluster had their jobs evaluated around 2005 and the results were that they need to start at salary level 8 pre – OSD. Amongst these groups some were getting scarce skills allowance and some of those who did not get it like the Clinical Technologist were isolated and bumped to salary level 8 and now are benefitting better in the current final offer of the Employer. The practitioners believe all of them must be bumped up and if money is the problem then phased in approach must be adopted like it happened with the Medical Cluster but in particular Doctors/Dentists OSD. We firmly demand a salary of R145,000 before ‘’COLA 2009/10’’as entry level for the professionals e.g. therapists e.t.c.
EMPLOYER’S RESPONSE
The employer tabled for the 3-4years qualified a 5% once off payment of the basic salary as at the 30 June 2010 to cover the period from 01 July 2009 to 30 June 2010, and then notch R161814 inclusive of ‘’Cost of living’’ salary adjustment of 2009/10 financial year, for the implementation with effect from 1 July 2010. Noting that the current 7.5% as per the PSCBC processes is not included.
2.4 TRANSLATION OF THE MANAGERS AT SALARY LEVEL 9 AND 10
The Managers at salary level 9 and 10 translate to a less favourable dispensation compared with their counter parts at the same levels pre-OSD in other OSDs. There should be serious consideration of their salaries to be around the ball park in comparison to the above, SL 9 - R283,617, SL 10 - R347,181 .
EMPLOYER’S RESPONSE
This demand could not be acceded to as the employer believe the salary of these categories are already as per the their final offer within the very ball park with the equivalent professions in terms of the OSD i.e. Nursing and Social Services Professions. Therefore the above proposed figures will distort the model applicable and introduce the undesired variations.
- WAY FORWARD
3.1 Labour have until the 28 October 2010 to run the consultation processes with their Principals and membership;
3.2 There will be a Special Council on the 29 October 2010 aimed at establishing the mandates of parties with regard to the signing or not signing the revised final offer;
3.3 The technical team members from the unions side who were released for the negotiations of this OSD would be deemed to have completed their tasks once the agreement has been signed by the majority of trade unions.
END!!
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