Moreland strike: Garbos, library staff strike over EBA with council

More than 500 workers have taken to the streets as industrial action over a wages fight with Moreland Council heats up.

Moreland Council workers and protesters outside Brunswick Town Hall on Wednesday, May 4. Picture: Hayley Elg

More than 500 workers from an inner-city council — including garbos, gardeners and library workers — are on strike over wages.

Libraries are shut across Moreland and rubbish will not be picked up — already an issue in the municipality — with workers saying they are in the fight for the long haul.

Union flags waved above the crowd and posters — with messages calling for better conditions and fair wages — urged supportive passers-by to honk their car horns.

Numerous speakers addressed the impassioned crowd — including disillusioned workers and members of the union.

Jennifer Marriott, head of the Municipal and Utilities Services Union, said they had been negotiating with council “in good faith” for 10 months, but the negotiations were ended by the council on Tuesday.

Ms Marriott led a series of strikers at Moreland’s Hadfield depot from 4am on Wednesday, which prevented the council from accessing a number of vital equipment, and involved up to 80 workers.

She said the main sticking point was Moreland’s refusal to accept a 2 per cent wage rise over three years and a $20 weekly emergency payment for staff.

“We’re not talking people on director-level salaries here,” said.

The council is maintaining its position of a 1.75 per cent wage increase over four years.

Ms Marriott said rubbish had not been collected on Saturday, and would not be collected on the coming Wednesday.

One worker, who was unable to be named due to regulations preventing council staff speaking to the media, said he had been “treated like crap”.

The gardener of 35 years described the relationship between the council and its staff as “master servant,” and said it showed a lack of gratitude for workers who had worked every day in the pandemic.

“They’re spending $1 million on renaming the city now they’re saying we’re not worth an extra $20 per week,” the man, who said he earns $75,000 annually, said.

One librarian spoke to the crowd about needing to go to work despite everybody else being able to work from home, putting themselves at risk to provide services and ultimately catching Covid.

Beyond a pay rise, library staff want regular hours and as they often work long hours, they are also seeking evening and weekend penalty rates in line with the rest of the workforce.

Australian Services Union secretary, Lisa Darmanin, said she had also spoken with a person who cleared rubbish from the streets.

On average, he cleans about seven tonnes of rubbish a week but at the height of the lockdowns – with people flocking to parks and gardens – this increased to about ten tonnes.

“He carried out this work with no recognition and no thank you.”

Ms Darmanin said this sentiment of not feeling valued was being felt right across the council’s services.

She said the workers had provided essential services throughout the pandemic and should not find it tougher than they already were.

“Over the last 12 months, the cost of living has risen by over five per cent, but Moreland management has offered a wage rise for the 21/22 financial year of just two per cent,” she said.

Ms Darmanin said a wage rise so far below the increase to the cost of living would have the biggest impact on the lowest paid workers at the council – those who clean the streets, work in libraries, collect waste and provide in-home aged care support, to name a few.

The union believes the escalation in industrial action to be due to the council’s unwillingness to take union members’ concerns seriously.

Brunswick ratepayer Darren Dwyer, who has lived in the area for 30 years, attended the protest with his dog, Clancy.

He attended to support his local community with the belief the council’s behaviour was “disgusting” and the workers were being “stitched up”.

“They’ve done an outstanding job during the Covid close downs – they’ve kept libraries open, home deliveries where need be and have generally copped a lot of s*** from people in general,” he told Leader.

“And for that they’ve been offered a disgusting pay rise in the face of inflation and I just don‘t think it’s fair.”

He said the council area was known for being “progressive”, so to see representatives treating workers they way they were was “unacceptable”.

Brunswick ratepayer Darren Dwyer at the Brunswick Town Hall protest. Picture: Hugo Timms.

Halil Gokler, a lawyer based in Coburg, got so sick of the mess outside his office, that he hired a van for $250 on Tuesday to pick up rubbish.

“We pay our rates for a reason,” Mr Gokler, the principal solicitor at Haitch Legal, said.

“I need to tell my clients to meet me elsewhere now.

“I’m considering moving my business to Darebin or Moonee Valley, it’s that bad.”

Cr Oscar Yildiz, who picked up rubbish along with Mr Goklet on Tuesday, said more than 100 locals had phoned or texted him in the past seven days.

“It’s massively impacting the business community, particularly on Sydney Rd,’’ Mr Yildiz said.

“It’s hard to justify spending $1 million on renaming the City of Moreland, but refuse to spend any money supporting our staff.”

Moreland chief executive Cathy Henderson said the city had a duty to ratepayers with the proposed EBA among one of the most generous in Melbourne.

“We highly value our wonderful staff and the important work that they do,” she said.

“However, we also have a duty to resident to be financially responsible. We must work within our budget and the state government rate caps, which limit our income.

“While we acknowledge the legal right of staff to take protected industrial action under Commonwealth law, it is regrettable that this had impacted the community,” she said.

“I want to thank the community for their patience during this time. We hope negotiations will be resolved soon.”