Council staff consider industrial action over ‘disappointing’ wage talks

A pay rise offer of 3% a year for the next three years has been rejected by the union representing the Bundaberg Regional Council workforce, triggering talks of industrial action. DETAILS

Bundaberg Regional Council CEO Rob Williams.

Hundreds of Bundaberg Regional Council workers are considering industrial action as negotiations between union organisers and the council start to break down.

On March 12, 2025, organisers from the Services Union met with Bundaberg council chiefs to settle on a wage rise offer for council staff.

Services Union representative Tom Rivers said after the meeting members were disappointed by the offer and were meeting to discuss the possibility of industrial action.

The Services Union released a statement saying “the Council has offered a 3 per cent pay increase, or $50 per week (whichever is greater) in the first year, followed by a 3 per cent increase in 2026 and another 3 per cent in 2027”.

Bundaberg Regional Council CEO Rob Williams.

The statement continued “no further bargaining meetings have been scheduled, and the impression given was that, as far as the council is concerned, negotiations are over.

Mr Rivers said members were disappointed by the proposal, which had been delayed a number of times due to layoffs which cost 70-80 council staff their job at the end of 2024.

“It’s two fold,” Mr Rivers said

First the council “do a nasty restructure where a lot of our members lose their jobs and the one’s remaining have to work even harder”.

“Then they put a not fantastic wage offer on the table,” he said.

Service Union submitted documents intended to start the bargaining process in September of last year.

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A Bundaberg council spokesman said a meeting date was scheduled for this Thursday, March 27, 2025.

The council said in a statement the “wages offer for January 2025 is 3 per cent or $50 (whichever is greater),”

“This results in wage increases of a minimum of 3 per cent up to 4.7 per cent for some of our lower paid workers.

“In contrast the CPI for December 2024 quarter was 1.8 per cent”.

The union is yet to submit a counter claim but is wanting to match wage increases it has achieved elsewhere.

Mr Rivers said he was looking to the Central Highlands, which received a three year offer of five per cent.

Among the remaining concerns for the council is an assurance of fairer wage outcomes, improvements to superannuation agreements, increased bereavement leave days, establishment of a designated work location that can only be changed via mutual agreement, four-day working week option, reproductive leave, Christmas/New Year closure period granted without requiring workers to use leave accruals, better mental health support, improved allowances for indoor workers and no forced redundancies.

Mr Rivers said members were meeting to discuss the possibility of industrial action in the coming weeks.