Fears Australia Day could be banned under a pay deal negotiated at regional council

A copy of an agreement shows a ‘once off $500 sign on payment’ would be paid to all employees if they agreed to the EBA in a move likened to bribery.

All references to Australia Day would be banned under a pay deal being negotiated at a major regional Victorian council.

A copy of the controversial agreement, obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun, shows a “once off $500 sign on payment” would be paid to all employees if they agreed to the EBA in a move likened to bribery.

If agreed to, the regional council would also introduce “Sorry Business Leave” which entitles Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to three extra days off per year to conduct “sorry business” – a period of mourning or bereavement.

All references to Australia Day must also be replaced with “January 26 Public Holiday”.

This Sunday Herald Sun understands the deal, however, was voted down by sixty per cent of employees of the City of Greater Bendigo on Friday because a proposed 3.5 per cent wage increase wasn’t enough.

Union members will convene a meeting on January 17 when they will consider taking protected industrial action if they don’t receive an improved offer before then.

Australian Services Union Deputy Branch Secretary Zoe Edwards said the union had recommended staff vote down the deal on the basis the wage increase did not “keep pace with cost of living and was below comparable wage offers at similar councils”.

The proposed agreement would have given employees a 3.5 per cent wage increase from October 2024-25, a 3 per cent increase the year after and a 2.5 per cent increase the year after that.

All references to Australia Day would be banned under a pay deal being negotiated at a major regional Victorian council. Picture: John Gass

Ms Edwards said the ASU represented a “significant” amount of the workforce, but that the resounding no vote demonstrated non-union members had also voted the agreement down.

The agreement also included a proposed one off “signing on” bonus of $500 per employee in exchange for a yes vote.

“I think workers are often very cynical of what they perceive as a bribe and I think in this case, you’ve seen workers reject that,” Ms Edwards said.

Ms Edwards said union members were broadly supportive of the additional Sorry Business Leave that would give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers extra time to attend to bereavements, and were more focused on achieving better pay by rejecting the agreement.

This would have been in addition to existing personal leave entitlements, the Sunday Herald Sun understands.

The City of Greater Bendigo currently holds Australia Day celebrations, but in 2024 moved its January citizenship ceremonies to a different date and said it would work with First Nations communities to hold more inclusive events on January 26.

Such a decision would have taken Bendigo in the opposite direction to another major regional council after Geelong voted to bring back Australia Day from 2026 earlier in December.

With Council and employees due to go back to the drawing board on negotiations, the long term fate of Australia Day celebrations in Greater Bendigo remained unclear.

Union members will hold a meeting in mid-January to consider the prospect of industrial action if they do not receive a better offer before then.

Melina Bath, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said it was “extraordinary that a local council enterprise agreement, thrust in front of staff, would seek to remove references of Australia Day”.

“To stop referring to Australia Day and renaming it the ‘January 26 Public Holiday’ is misguided and plain wrong.

“It is not the role of local councils to decide if Australia Day should be referred to.

“Staff should not be pressured into thinking they can’t recognise or celebrate our national day.”