‘Plain wrong’: Regional council slammed for Australia Day move
A council has been accused of “bribery” for offering a one-off payment to staff who agree to sign an agreement that could see big changes to Australia Day.
A regional Victorian council has been accused of “bribery” after offering a once-off payment for staff in a pay deal that would see all references to Australia Day banned, with the fight to carry on to next year.
A copy of an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) by the Greater Bendigo City Council, obtained by the Herald Sun, proposed a “once-off $500 sign on payment” for staff if they agreed to the EBA, which proposed changes to staff wages and removing references to Australia Day.
A meeting with Australian Service Union (ASU) members will be held on January 17 2025 to consider whether the union should strike if the council failed to consider better wages.
The proposed changes in the EBA would introduce a 3.5 per cent wage increase between October 2024 and 2025, a 3 per cent increase the following year and a 2.5 per cent increase the year afterwards.
Another proposed change includes the introduction of “Sorry Business Leave”, which would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders an additional three days off per year to conduct “sorry business”, a cultural practice of mourning or bereavement.
If agreed to, the EBA would also replace all references to Australia Day with “January 26 Public Holiday”.
However, it’s understood the deal was voted down by 60 per cent of City of Greater Bendigo employees on Friday after reports the proposed wage increases were not adequate amid the cost-of-living crisis.
ASU secretary Zoe Edwards told NewsWire the union encouraged staff to vote down the EBA as the pay offer was “sub-standard” and would “take wages backwards”.
“A clear majority of people working at City of Greater Bendigo voted down the sub-standard offer put to a vote by council executive on Friday,” she told NewsWire.
“It’s disappointing that highly paid management preferred to try and force through an agreement that would take wages backwards, rather than negotiating fair pay for local people in Bendigo during a cost of living crisis.”
Ms Edwards added the union was “ready to continue negotiations” with the council “in good faith”.
“ASU members at City of Greater Bendigo will be meeting on January 17 to consider options including protected industrial action to win a fair agreement should negotiations alone not deliver one,” she said.
Ms Edwards also told the Herald Sun while the ASU mostly welcomed the Sorry Business Leave, members were unimpressed with the $500 one-off payment, which was likened to a “bribe”.
Speaking to NewsWire, a spokesperson for the City of Greater Bendigo said offering a one-off sign on payment was practised by “many State and Local Government bodies”.
“This is not unusual practice,” they said,
The spokesperson also told NewsWire there would be no changes to Australia Day community events.
“Australia Day events continue to be staged by service clubs and volunteer groups across the community,” the spokesperson said.
“There has been no change to these celebrations.”
They added the proposed changes to Australia Day was “referenced through the log of claims and shared drafted documents to ensure a high level of transparency during discussions”.
“After a detailed benchmarking process the City is confident that the proposed salary increases over three years (minimum of $8,000 pay increase for staff across three years) are in line with other recently approved Local Government Enterprise Agreements,” the spokesperson said.
“The City offered significantly improved conditions (parental leave, superannuation, increases in allowances, emergency services leave, etc) to the current agreement with a focus to ensure enhanced working conditions for staff, but also a continued high quality of services to our community.”
The proposed name change has been slammed by Victorian Nationals MP Melina Bath, who said referring to Australia Day as January 26 Public Holiday was “plain wrong”.
Ms Bath told the Herald Sun it was “extraordinary that a local council enterprise agreement, thrust in front of staff, would seek to remove references of Australia Day”.
“It is not the role of local councils to decide if Australia Day should be referred to,” she said.
“Staff should not be pressured into thinking they can’t recognise or celebrate our national day.”
It is not the first time the City of Greater Bendigo has made amendments to Australia Day celebrations.
While the council holds events on January 26, such as barbecues, live entertainment and family events, in July 2023 the council announced it would officially move its Australia Day citizenship ceremonies to January 25 rather than the traditional date in an effort to “come together and express compassion and understanding, and reflect on the impact of colonisation on First Nations people”.
“Irrespective of your personal feelings, words have impact,” Mayor Councillor Andrea Metcalf said in July 2023.
“I do not want to see our community become divided over such matters and want to emphasise the importance of making room for everyone.”
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