|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home | Contacts | Links | Feedback |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
May 2004 Newsletter
An occasional newsletter from the Commonwealth Branch of ASMOF This newsletter covers a number of issues of interest to members of ASMOF Commonwealth Branch, which covers doctors in Commonwealth Agency employment. If you have particular concerns or problems in your workplace, please contact your workplace representative or our industrial staff for assistance. President's Column ASMOF Attends Meeting of the Australian Healthcare Reform Alliance to Contribute to the Submission to the Australian Health Ministers' Council. Last August, the inaugural National Health Summit was held at the Old Parliament House in Canberra. Around 250 delegates from the various key provider and consumer groups in health care from around Australia (including ASMOF) came together to formulate a joint submission to the Federal and State health ministers prior to the signing off of the 2003-08 Federal/State healthcare funding agreement. At that time the Australian Healthcare Reform Alliance was formed and issued a joint communique on health funding. The joint communique can be found here. The key recommendations of the communique included:
On Wednesday April 22 2004, the Alliance came together once more, this time to formulate a plan to be put to the Australian Health Ministers Council on Friday April 24. The plan to be put to the ministers involves the pooling of Federal and state health funding into a single account for each state. This was intended to combat blame shifting, waste and duplication. During the Friday presentation, in addition to proposing the pooling of state and Federal health funding, the Alliance intended to urge the state and Federal health ministers to consider measures to address the chronic medical workforce shortages, particularly in rural areas.
Guy Hibbins Industrial Matters: Performance Development Appraisal There have been a number of members who have reported having difficulties with the performance assessments and the process applied by managers. An important principal to insist on is, staff are entitled to receive an appraisal without any 'surprises' contained in it. Fairness must be seen to have been applied. The assessment must not include any mention of issues or criticisms that have not been the subject of consultation with the manager and the member of staff. Any such discussion must have occurred at an appropriate time, not months later or left to the last minute, in order for the process to have been fair and procedural fairness to have been applied. Department of Health and Ageing Negotiations for a new department wide Certified Agreement recently commenced and we are seeking improvements in the level of the Professional Development Allowance for our Medical Officers' contained in a MOU. We will also need to pay represent those members on AWA's as required. The Therapeutic Goods Agency (TGA) is to become a separate Statutory Authority in 2005 called the "Trans Tasman Agency" and because this will occur during the life of this next agreement we will need to pay special attention to the wording as it also covers all TGA staff. The government may seek to include a reference to this legislation and I expect that an effort will be made by TGA management to limit some new/improved entitlements from having application to TGA staff. Staff transferring to the new Authority will have transmissions of business rights including all conditions applying at the time and we will want any new conditions to be retained by staff at TGA. Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs During May 2004 staff voted to reject an offer from the employer seeking to make an agreement direct with staff and not with the unions as undertaken. The department is now seeking the views of staff before once more taking up talks with the unions. Health Insurance Commission The Agency has taken over a number of aged care functions from Health and MO numbers have increased. Communication with Members ASMOF issues notices and other communications to members in specific organisations or on specific issues and holds teleconferences of workplace representatives to consult and inform members on current workplace issues affecting them. ASMOF Commonwealth Branch welcomes new members and invites eligible doctors to apply for membership. Office Holders
Workplace Contacts
Note: For effective communication, we need you to provide us with a nominated contact for your workplace/office and if the above details have changed please advise Robin as soon as possible.
Robin Hampstead About ASMOF Membership of the Commonwealth Branch of ASMOF is open to all salaried doctors in the employment of Commonwealth Agencies and we encourage all Doctors to consider membership of ASMOF. All permanent, fixed-term, temporary or casual/sessional employees are eligible for membership. An ASMOF application form can be found under the Commonwealth Branch link on the ASMOF website. Conjoint Membership for AMA members: A conjoint membership arrangement between the Commonwealth Branch of ASMOF and the AMA enables AMA members in salaried employment in the Commonwealth to become ASMOF members free of subscriptions. Subscription Rates Current subscriptions for ASMOF Commonwealth Branch are as follows, inclusive of GST:
Part time rates are on a pro rata basis, with a minimum subscription of two days per week.
All Commonwealth members may hold membership with ASMOF and have their membership subscriptions deducted fortnightly from their pay. The benefit of this option for members is that membership can be maintained from year to year with small regular payments. Subscriptions appear on your group certificate and are tax deductible. You may also pay ASMOF subscriptions annually, by cheque, Bankcard, Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Diners. The ASMOF financial year coincides with the calendar year. All aspects of ASMOF membership can be discussed with ASMOF administration in Sydney. Contact Marcia or Naomi on 02 9212 6900. For further information about payment options, email Naomi Important Information As a member of ASMOF, you may become liable for levies, outstanding fees and fines in accordance with its rules. The rules of ASMOF can be viewed on the website. If you wish to resign from ASMOF, please do so in writing to the Secretary, ASMOF Commonwealth Branch, Locked Bag 13, Glebe NSW 2037. Contact Details Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Ph: 02 9212 6900 Fax: 02 9212 6911 asmof@asmof.org.au |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Social Change Online |
 |
