Bundaberg Council employees to receive a 7.7 per cent pay rise in 2023

Council employees are now receiving a ratepayer-funded pay rise of up to $9000. Ratepayer groups are concerned funding the increase will add to the burden of the cost of living crisis.

Council employees are now receiving a ratepayer-funded pay rise of up to $9000.

Bundaberg Regional Council has described the 7.7 per cent pay increase due to be received by council employees in 2023 as “pleasing“.

The moves comes as ratepayers are in the midst of a cost of living crisis driven by stagnant wages growth.

In the latest enterprise bargaining agreement for council employees negotiated in 2021 and certified on January 13, 2022, the Council and the Australian Services Union agreed to increase salaries by 2.2 per cent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the December 2022 quarter, if the CPI value is higher.

The CPI - the principal measure of inflation in Australia - for Brisbane in the December 2022 quarter was 7.7 per cent, meaning council employees are in line for a commensurate increase in 2023.

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The pay increase came into force in the January 2023 pay period, 12 months after the certification of the latest EBA.

According to a letter sent by council CEO Steve Johnston to employees informing them of the pay increase, a copy of which was sent to the Bundaberg Regional Ratepayers Association and seen by NewsMail, the higher salaries came into force in the January 2023 pay period and were paid out to employees on the February 2.

The letter from Bundaberg Regional Council CEO Steve Johnston informing employees of the CPI-indexed pay increase.

The Australian Services Union informed its members of the increase through a newsletter posted online last week, including a table through which members can see the pay rise applicable to their salary band.

The minimum increase due for a council employee on a 2022 salary of $57,302 is $4412, which is $2852 more than if the base level 2.2 per cent increase was in force.

An employee on $120,700, the highest salary, will receive an increase of $9294, which is $6638 more than the 2.2 per cent increase.

The 7.7 per cent pay rise is much higher than the 3.3 per cent wages growth experienced by Australian workers nationally in 2022, as the tension between rising inflation and stagnant wages growth drives a cost of living crisis recently described as “terrifying” for businesses.

Bundaberg Regional Council chief executive Steve Johnston said it was “pleasing” to see council workers’ pay keep pace with the cost of living.

“Unlike many workplaces it’s pleasing to see that, as a result of the negotiated EBA, council pay rates are keeping pace with the real cost of living,” Mr Johnston said.

Mr Johnston declined to comment on possible pushback from ratepayers for using council revenue to fund the pay increases, deferring any further statements until after the 2023/2024 budget is decided by Council in June 2023.

Ratepayer advocates are concerned about the impact of the pay increases on rates which are expected to rise in June 2023.

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“Can our ratepayers afford a CPI-indexed rates increase of 7.7 per cent at a time when they are struggling with soaring mortgage payments, food and fuel prices, and the imminent threat of recession?,” Bundaberg Regional Ratepayers Association vice-president Helen Blackburn said.

“We have many pressing needs in this community that impact the most vulnerable.

“Also, paying down existing council loans would be fiscally responsible by Bundaberg Regional Council.”

Services Union Local Government Lead Tom Rivers said ratepayers could benefit from the higher wages being paid to Bundaberg Regional Council employees.

The Australian Services Union said ratepayers could benefit from the higher wages being paid to council employees due to the ability to retain and attract quality staff.

“Bundaberg council like other council’s in Queensland is struggling to attract and retain staff in a very competitive labour market, so the wage increase may go some way assisting council,” ASU Local Government lead Tom Rivers said.

“The wage increase may actually be better value for money for ratepayers by Council retaining and attracting good staff.”

According to Mr Rivers, the inclusion of a clause to index wages to CPI above an agreed base value is standard in EBA negotiations.

“At Bundaberg council we negotiated a 2.2 per cent wage increase or CPI if CPI was higher,” he said.

“This is something that we often try to negotiate into agreements as a safety net if inflation sky rockets.”

Mr Johnston confirmed that the pay increases certified in the EBA do not apply to his own salary and those of the Council’s senior executives, which are ratified in employment contracts separate to the EBA.

The chief and senior executive salaries are included in the Bundaberg Regional Council annual reports as required under S201 of the Local Government Act.

As the chief executive of Bundaberg Regional Council Mr Johnston receives an annual salary of $428,600 per annum under his current four year contract.