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Speaker 1: Now we know that union's NT have slammed the government's

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Speaker 1: decision to scrap portable long service leave for social community,

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Speaker 1: aged care workers, childcare educators and disability sector workers, warning

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Speaker 1: that the move is going to exasperate workforce retention issues

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Speaker 1: and send the Northern Territory backwards compared to other states

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Speaker 1: and territories. Now we spoke about this last week, but

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Speaker 1: we know that this is indeed going to be happening

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Speaker 1: in Parliament this week. And Cath Hatcher, Union's NT president

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Speaker 1: and also head of the Nursing and Midwiffree Union for

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. She said the decision represents a direct

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Speaker 1: attack on thousands of hard working professionals and she joins

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Speaker 1: me on the line right now. Good morning to you, Kath.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Lovely to have you on the show. Kath. Why is

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Speaker 1: this a bad move by the Northern Territory government.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think it's a disgraces of the dedicated workers

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Speaker 2: in this area, which the vast majority are women.

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Speaker 1: And so and talk us through. You know what it's

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Speaker 1: going to mean for those females in these roles.

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Speaker 2: Well, we already know that women come out at retirement

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Speaker 2: age lacking in their super about twenty eight percent less

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Speaker 2: compared to their male counterparts, because they've had time off

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Speaker 2: with their care being as a mother, they may have

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Speaker 2: been a carer for their elderly parents, and also you know,

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Speaker 2: they haven't been able to get superannuation whilst they're on

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Speaker 2: parental leave or carers leave for their parents. And on average,

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Speaker 2: women are twenty eight percent less with their superannuation. And

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Speaker 2: now if they're staying in the same career career path

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Speaker 2: and if they stay with the same employer, you know

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Speaker 2: this isn't an issue. But this portable long service leave

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Speaker 2: particularly happens in other states and territories and it allows

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Speaker 2: workers to continue to work in those areas of expertise

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Speaker 2: to accumulate their long service leave entitlement based upon their

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Speaker 2: continuous service in an industry rather than with a single employer.

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Speaker 1: Do we have any idea how many territorians this is

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Speaker 1: going to impact.

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Speaker 2: I don't know specifics, no, but I would suspect that

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Speaker 2: it'd be many thousands of workers in the child care,

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Speaker 2: age care workers, social community disability sector workers, etc. So

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Speaker 2: you know this is only going to benefit the employers.

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Speaker 2: So congratulations, Lea Fanochiaro and her government that she is

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Speaker 2: bending backwards for the employer of the territory and for

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Speaker 2: workers that who will wish to stay in the same sector,

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Speaker 2: they will need to stay with the same employer for

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Speaker 2: greater than seven to ten years to be able to

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Speaker 2: get their long service leave entitlements.

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Speaker 1: Cas, I mean, what do you say though to the

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Speaker 1: argument that the Northern Territory government. I mean, they can't

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Speaker 1: make promises that they can't afford.

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Speaker 2: But you know, as a good employer, which I am

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Speaker 2: one of. Everyone who's an employer does a budget every

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Speaker 2: year year and they work out how many staff they

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Speaker 2: need to cover the facility, and they work out their

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Speaker 2: leave entitlements, and you know, a good employer should be

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Speaker 2: putting away their long service leave entitlements, which is one

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Speaker 2: point three weeks of pay. They should be putting that

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Speaker 2: aside for their up and coming either they leave after

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Speaker 2: seven completed years and they can have their long service

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Speaker 2: leave entitlements paid out on a pro rata basis if

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Speaker 2: they're going to retire or leave that employer, or if

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Speaker 2: they stay longer than ten years, they can have their

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Speaker 2: entitlements paid out in monetary as well as time off circumstances,

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Speaker 2: they can have their twelve leegue weeks long service leave,

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Speaker 2: or they can take it at half pay.

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Speaker 1: So I guess what you're saying is the employer should

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Speaker 1: be better prepared for us.

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Speaker 2: Well, they should always be prepared for someone who's working

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Speaker 2: in their facility to take long service leaves or to

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Speaker 2: take their annual leave, holiday, pay leave entitlements. They need

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Speaker 2: to budget that include that into their budget. And I

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Speaker 2: don't see what the problem is with, you know, with

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Speaker 2: getting rid of this. This is only going to discriminate

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Speaker 2: those working in the same sector, but choosing to work

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Speaker 2: for different employers. It's the employer is not going to

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Speaker 2: basically shouldn't be seen any different. They should be budgeting

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Speaker 2: that into their their everyday yearly budget.

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Speaker 1: All right, Cas, I do want to ask you as well. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: last time you and I spoke, we've spoken quite extensively

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Speaker 1: about the situation at the Darwin Private Hospital when it

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Speaker 1: comes to the maternity ward. Where are things that at

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Speaker 1: the moment from your perspective, how are nurses and midwives going.

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Speaker 2: Those that are working at the private hospital, they've obviously

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Speaker 2: you know that they've had that closure extended. So I

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Speaker 2: do know that it is about five maybe six that

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Speaker 2: are going to move across and be employed at Ryal

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Speaker 2: Darwin Hospital, and we're making sure that all their entitlements,

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Speaker 2: including their long service leave, is recognized. So at the moment,

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Speaker 2: their long service leave isn't recognized because it's going from

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Speaker 2: one private employer to public employer. But we're negotiating with

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Speaker 2: the CEE of the Department of Health, Chris Hosking, and

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Speaker 2: the Commissioner for Public Employment to have a determination or

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Speaker 2: change of determination so it will include from Healthscope private

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Speaker 2: hospital and that will be recognized, so that's number one,

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Speaker 2: and that all their other entitlements will be recognized as well.

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Speaker 2: So we've just had a meeting with HR of World

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Speaker 2: Darwin Well Sorry Department of Health this morning and they

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Speaker 2: were all looking into those leave entitlements transferring across. There

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Speaker 2: are going to be some of those staff at the

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Speaker 2: private hospital that will have early retirement, and there are

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Speaker 2: others that we are unsure of or they're unsure of

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Speaker 2: of what they're going to do or whether they're going

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Speaker 2: to be redeployed within the private hospital because they are

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Speaker 2: a dual registration there and a midwife. Then they could

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Speaker 2: be redeployed in other areas of the private So they're

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Speaker 2: I'm sure at the moment still what they're going to do.

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Speaker 1: So cas how many nurses and midwives are we talking

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Speaker 1: here for the Darwin Private Maternity.

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Speaker 2: Ward approximately twelve to fourteen permanent staff and about ten

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Speaker 2: casual staff.

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Speaker 1: Okay, and in terms of you know, like that redeployment

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Speaker 1: or if they are going to work at Royal Darwin Hospital,

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Speaker 1: so just talk us through that.

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Speaker 2: So they're trying to make the transition if they do

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Speaker 2: wish to go across to the Department of Health at

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Speaker 2: work at Royal Darwin Hospital or anywhere else for the

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Speaker 2: Department of Health. They're trying to make that transition as

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Speaker 2: smooth as possible and that they will take all their

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Speaker 2: entitlements with them and they will get that support, you know,

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Speaker 2: starting in a new area of work.

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Speaker 1: All right, So I suppose, you know, the the question

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Speaker 1: to ask is can more be done for those staff?

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Speaker 1: I mean, we are at a difficult situation, I suppose,

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Speaker 1: and it has been really for quite some time. We've

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Speaker 1: spoken a lot about the you know, the mums or

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Speaker 1: the expectant mums that are no longer going to be

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Speaker 1: able to have their bubbs there. Do you think that

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Speaker 1: more can be done.

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Speaker 2: I'm in negotiations with with Luke Hos Gosling at the moment,

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Speaker 2: Sorry Luke Gosling, and I'm hoping to get something extra

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Speaker 2: from the federal government that We'll have to watch that space,

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Speaker 2: all right, and I'll let you know when I've got

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Speaker 2: more information.

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Speaker 1: That'd be wonderful. Cath, I always appreciate your time. Thank

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Speaker 1: you so much for joining me on the show this morning.

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Speaker 2: Are you welcome, Thank you, thank you.