11 drivers to lose jobs after JJ Richards takes over Nillumbik Council’s waste service

Nillumbik Council’s decision to outsource its waste collection service is expected to save ratepayers millions of dollars. But a councillor has condemned the move saying it will cost the jobs of 11 in-house garbage truck drivers.

JJ Richards will deliver Nillumbik Council’s waste collection service next year.

Eleven rubbish truck drivers will lose their jobs when Nillumbik Council outsources its waste collection service next year.

The switch to JJ Richards is expected to save the council $4.2 million over seven years, but not everyone has supported the move.

Cr Peter Perkins described the decision as “poor” and said it had nothing to do with the current SKM recycling crisis.

He also said the cost benefit “did not stack up”.

“There will be a minor cut to ratepayers’ waste management charge but this will be counter balanced when the council pays the redundancy packages of all the eleven drivers — that money will need to come from ratepayers,” he said.

Cr Perkins also said the council should be keeping its services in-house.

“Outsourcing doesn’t necessarily deliver better results,” he said.

“Two out of the eleven drivers I spoke to were happy to get the golden handshake, but the other nine certainly weren’t.”

Cr Peter Perkins does not support Nillumbik Council’s decision to outsource its waste collection service.

JJ Richards will take over the council’s kerbside waste service from July 1 next year.

The company holds contracts with about 20 per cent of Victorian councils, including Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

Mayor Karen Egan said the move would better meet the needs of ratepayers.

“JJ Richards has, through the tender evaluation, demonstrated excellence in service delivery, customer focus, advanced waste collection technology, safety and risk management,” she said.

“On behalf of all councillors I’d like to acknowledge the contribution from all the staff who have delivered the service over many years.”

But Australian Services Union branch secretary Lisa Darmanin said the 11 drivers deserved “much better treatment” than they had received from the council.

“Outsourcing waste collection services is short sighted and is having real impacts on a team of dedicated and hardworking employees at Nillumbik,” she said.

“Only a securely employed workforce can deliver the quality of services demanded by the community and the team at Nillumbik was delivering those services more efficiently than comparable councils.”

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Council chief executive Carl Cowie said staff and union representatives were consulted prior to the decision.

He also said the eleven drivers would have the opportunity to continue employment with the new waste services contractor.

“If they are unsuitable for a position, they will be eligible for redeployment to any suitable vacancies within Council or receive a full redundancy payment,” he said.

“The waste collection team and union representatives had been consulted and provided input throughout the market testing process”.

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