Despite attending for work as directed, nursing staff have not been paid since 21 August 2007. The last resident was moved out of the 30-bed facility on Thursday 23 August following a report by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency that found the facility failed 42 out of 44 standards.
Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) Assistant Secretary Yvonne Chaperon said: "Before the Howard Government's unfair workplace laws, nurses who were not being paid could have walked out, but under WorkChoices these nurses have no choice but to work for nothing.
Nurses are calling on Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey to advise them what they should do under WorkChoices:
- If they walk out - the Howard Government's Workplace Ombudsman could prosecute them for taking unprotected industrial action.
- If they resign - they will lose their benefits worth close to one million dollars.
- If they speak up - they can be sacked -under Workchoices you can be sacked for no reason - there is no appeal (as Belvedere Park has less than 100 staff). If sacked, nurses will lose their entitlements. Some long-serving nurses are owed up to $40,000 in paid annual leave and other entitlements.
- If they go to the independent umpire - the matter has been to the umpire, but under WorkChoices the Australian Industrial Relations Commission has no jurisdiction to resolve this issue.
- If they stay - ANF will assist them so that they may recover their pay for the last four weeks, plus their accumulated benefits such as long service leave and redundancy pay - but in the meantime, they will not be paid.
"Most of our members are working mothers who are not highly paid and who cannot afford to work for no pay - or lose their benefits," Ms Chaperon said, "The manager will not make staff redundant - presumably to save money by giving staff no choice but to resign."
"Ironically, if the company is put into liquidation, then the taxpayer will pay the benefits for the owners - estimated to be approaching a million dollars," Ms Chaperon said, "ANF condemns the Howard Government's Workchoices laws that offer no protection for workers," she said.
