APESMA rights campaign
December 7, 2010
THE Pharmacists’ Division of the
Association of Professional
Engineers, Scientists and Managers
Australia (PDA) has announced a
new ‘Protect your rights at work’
industrial campaign folllwing
“alarming increases in workplace
abuse of conditions by pharmacy
employers”.
PDA said that since the new
Pharmacy Industry Award was
introduced in Jan, more than 150
of its pharmacy members had
contacted the union with
complaints about a range of issues
including underpayment of salary
and entitlements, unfair dismissals
and “cases of bullying and
discrimination resulting from
members asking about their
entitlements under the new Award”.
Some of the cases have resulted
in “wholly unacceptable”
termination of employment
because pharmacists have refused
to sign an Individual Flexibility
Agreement (IFA).
APESMA said it had so far taken
51 cases to Fair Work Australia or
other tribunals, with PDA
concerned that many members had
signed IFAs “even though they
know they are being ripped off
because they believe that if they
don’t they will lose their jobs”.
Interestingly, APESMA said that
all of the unfair dismissal cases it
had taken on had not proceeded to
arbitration, but were settled at
conciliation “because employers
have accepted that they did the
wrong thing”.
Under the new workplace
campaign, PDA will survey
members and non-members on the
level of non-compliance and abuse
of rights by pharmacy employers.
APESMA Senior Industrial Officer
Jacki Baulch claimed that most of
the proposed IFA’s “do not meet the
legislative no disadvantage
requirements, particularly in
relation to access to penalty
payments and other allowances”.
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