Water fight gets dirty as boss ‘lumps union sites with gambling, porn’

A bitter industrial dispute between Sydney Water executives and staff has intensified after the union urged Water Minister Rose Jackson to sack managing director Roch Cheroux.

As part of a two-page letter sent to Jackson on Thursday, obtained by this masthead, Australian Services Union NSW & ACT branch secretary Angus McFarland claims Cheroux was appointed by the Coalition in an effort to privatise the publicly owned corporation.

In his correspondence, McFarland alleges Cheroux engaged in “hyper-aggressive, American-style union-busting tactics”, including adding some unions to a list of banned websites alongside pornography and gambling sites.

Roch Cheroux, the managing director of Sydney Water.Credit: Louie Douvis

“The ASU has represented workers at Sydney Water for many years, and while we have not always seen eye-to-eye with Sydney Water management, we have never encountered an executive team so openly hostile to workers and so unapologetically destructive to the social purpose of Sydney Water,” McFarland writes.

The deteriorating relationship between Sydney Water management and staff comes against the backdrop of a protracted disagreement over a new wage agreement, with the ASU threatening industrial action.

“For the sake of Sydney Water, its employees, and the people of Sydney, Mr Cheroux must go as a matter of urgency.”

After four months of negotiations, the failure to overcome the impasse resulted in Sydney Water workers lodging a dispute with the Fair Work Commission in late July.

An 11 per cent wage offer over three years will be voted on by Sydney Water workers this week.

A Sydney Water spokeswoman rejected McFarland’s claims, saying the ASU had refused to compromise on wage demands which would have come at an “unacceptable cost” to its 5.3 million customers.

“Sydney Water categorically rejects the false and highly defamatory claims made by the ASU Branch Secretary,” she said.

“This is a personal attack on Sydney Water managing director Roch Cheroux by the ASU and a despicable tactic in trying to sway supporters after refusing to negotiate with Sydney Water.”

She said independent industry benchmarking showed Sydney Water employees were “among the highest paid in the country”.

McFarland claimed genuine attempts to engage with Cheroux’s management team had failed, in part, due to the intransigence and open hostility shown to the Combined Water Unions and its members.

The discord with Sydney Water management had left employee morale at “rock bottom”, McFarland claimed.

“Mr Cheroux, who in our view, was hired specifically to privatise Sydney Water, remains at the helm and is apparently unwilling and unable to shift gears,” he wrote.

“Given your new government is in charge, Mr Cheroux is – to borrow a management term – no longer fit for purpose.”

Water Minister Rose Jackson says it is disappointing Sydney Water employees felt they were not being heard.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Sydney Water became the subject of an intense battle in the week before the March election, with Labor claiming NSW Treasury documents showed the Coalition government intended to sell the asset.

The claims were repeatedly ruled out by then-premier Dominic Perrottet.

Jackson said it was disappointing Sydney Water workers did not “feel heard or appreciated”.

“The work the Sydney Water team do is incredibly important, they are the people that strive to ensure we have safe and secure access to water. All employees most certainly deserve fair remuneration and good working conditions at a minimum,” she said.

“I expect Sydney Water to listen and act on the concerns raised by employees. I am meeting with Australian Services Union in the next week or two to discuss their concerns directly.”

Before being appointed Sydney Water managing director in September 2019, Cheroux was chief executive of SA Water Corporation.

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