There has been significant progress in the dispute over Salaried Medical Officer (SMO) and Visiting Medical Officer (VMO) contracts being offered by Queensland Health.
The Queensland Government, after extensive lobbying and negotiations, agreed to range of changes to the original contracts and related employment framework (for both SMO and VMO contracts), which include:
- A robust and binding dispute resolution process
- A robust and binding unfair dismissal process
- The reissuing of the contract as one document, fully incorporating the intent of the addendum originally proposed by the Government
- The removal of words profitability, viability and reputation from the termination clause
- The choice of a 3 or 6 months’ notice period
- Hospital and Health Services (HHS) to provide for current clinical support time arrangements
- A guarantee that translated option A benefits will be carried with SMOs moving to a different HHS
- The ability to decline a transfer if reasonable grounds exist
- The ability to decline a shift roster if reasonable grounds exist
- PDL can only be directed to address or improve performance issues
- Intellectual property rights to only be related to actual duties performed for the employer
- A guarantee that contract conditions cannot be changed negatively
- Improvement in wages and certain allowances can be arbitrated every 3 years
- Future improvements to contracts need to go through a contract advisory committee.
These changes were considered at a mass SMO/VMO meeting held on 16 April, which acknowledged them as being significant. The meeting also agreed that mass resignation was not required.
The revised contracts are now available and the deadline for signature has been extended until the end of May. The AMA and AMAQ has communicated advice to the Queensland Health Minister that we are satisfied that the contracts are now in a form where they can be properly considered by SMOs and VMOs. At the time of writing, ASMOF was conducting a plebiscite of members on the draft contracts.
On 31 March an application to the Federal Court by Queensland Health was filed for injunctive and declaratory relief against six parties including AMA Limited. The claim is made under the Commonwealth Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law (which forms part of the Act). Queensland Health is seeking an injunction to restrain the six respondents (AMA, AMAQ, ASMOF, Tony Sara as President of ASMOF, the Together union, and its President) from publishing or disseminating information or advice which contravenes a provision of the Australian Consumer Law to employees of Queensland Health, and also requires removal of similar information from websites and to publish corrected information.
As previously advised to Federal Council, the AMA has been removed from the list of respondents to this action. The AMAQ has also been removed.