Geelong council staff seek better offer as union flags strike action

Frustrated by what they consider an inferior wage offer, frontline staff are considering strike action that could see parking fines halted and rubbish left uncollected.

The City of Greater Geelong’s headquarters at the Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct in Mercer St. Picture: Alan Barber.

Parking fines will not be issued and rubbish collections will cease in the lead up to Christmas if industrial action being contemplated by frontline staff at Geelong council becomes a reality.

Negotiations over a new three-year enterprise agreement have reached a fork-in-the-road moment after City Hall confirmed its offer of a 3 per cent annual wage increase.

A formalised offer is expected to be put to employees in early December, almost six months after the most recent agreement ended.

Australian Services Union (ASU) delegates are leading negotiations on behalf of employees and members have vowed to reject the offer, claiming it doesn’t go far enough to assist workers struggling amid spiralling costs.

City Hall’s sweetener is an $1100 one-off payment to full-time employees in the first year of the agreement, followed by a $400 payment in years two and three.

Part-time employees would receive the lump-sum payments pro-rata.

But ASU members view the payments as an inferior substitute to a fair pay rise as they are heavily taxed and don’t attract superannuation.

Other conditions that remain in dispute include flexible work rights and safety practices on days of extreme weather, an ASU spokesman said.

Negotiations have so far secured improvements in parental leave and access to sick leave in limited circumstances.

The ASU promotes itself as the largest local government union in the country, representing workers in a variety of fields that include garbage collectors, child carers, librarians and gardeners, as well as administrative and clerical staff.

City of Greater Geelong’s headquarters. Picture: Alan Barber.

The City of Greater Geelong has almost 2800 employees and while it is unclear how many are ASU members, a union spokesman said the vast majority of the workforce would be impacted by the agreement.

“Hundreds of ASU members across the City of Greater Geelong from childcare, leisure, civic centre and depot are considering taking industrial action in support of their claim for a wage increase that keeps pace with cost of living and other key conditions,” the spokesman said.

“This could include complete work bans allowing office-based workers to work from home full time, bans on collecting parking fines and public litter collection through the critical summer months when tourists visit our region.”

A source familiar with the situation said City Hall’s offer contradicted its ambition to be the highest performing local government in the country.

“Compare Wyndham, City of Melbourne, Hume as the standard and Geelong is embarrassing in comparison,” they said.

“There’s a reason good employees are hard to come by at council, this will only make it worse.”

Council’s executive director of corporate services Troy Edwards described the proposal as fair and sustainable, and shaped by employee feedback.

The 3 per cent wage offer was marginally higher than the state government’s rate cap, he said.

“We’re maintaining all of the conditions our employees value and strengthening others for greater fairness and wellbeing,” he said.

“In a challenging economic climate, we’re improving wages and conditions for our employees while making sure the City of Greater Geelong is financially sustainable so we can continue to deliver our important services to the community.

“Discussions with our workforce have been productive and positive, and we expect this to continue.”

Originally published as Geelong council staff seek better offer as union flags strike action