Cleanaway workers strike for fair pay on Fraser Coast

Some Glenwood, Bauple, Maryborough and Hervey Bay residents will have to watch their bins fill to the brim as garbage collection workers join a union strike against Cleanaway.

Cleanaway contractors participated in a strike in Hervey Bay on Friday. Photo: TWU Queensland

Cleanaway workers on the Fraser Coast joined a Transport Workers’ Union strike gripping Australia as part of a fight for fair pay on Friday.

Parts of Glenwood, Gootchie, Gundiah, Kanigan, Bauple, Maryborough, Toogoom, Dundowran Beach and Urangan will be not have their kerbside rubbish bins collected on time.

The ”industrial action” is one of many recent strikes across the country including Western Australia, New South Wales and South-East Queensland, all calling for fair pay.

Following a massive strike in Sydney in February, Cleanaway offered a five per cent pay increase backdated to July 1, 2022.

A Transport Workers’ Union press release said members were “battling attempts to force workers to work weekends and longer shifts while losing entitlements like overtime rates, as well as pay disparity and job security concerns”.

This follows Cleanaway’s recent financial report indicating an increased use of overtime and sub-contractors as they announced a $49 million half-year profit after tax.

The press release said the report also highlighted “threats to job security and the pressure on workers to work long hours while Cleanaway tries to cut access to overtime entitlements”.

Transport Workers’ Union members gathered to form a picket line at the Hervey Bay Cleanaway depot on Friday, April 21, to strike from 1am until 5pm on April 21.

A second Transport Workers’ Union press release said Cleanaway took a “brute-force approach” to bargaining and “attempting to push through an Enterprise Agreement that strips away fundamental rights and conditions”.

TWU Queensland director of organising, Jared Abbot, asked for Cleanaway to resume bargaining with the union in “good faith”.

“The council has a responsibility to procure these services in a way that isn‘t to the detriment of the community and the workers delivering this essential service,” Mr Abbot said.

“The council need to tell Cleanaway to keep the company‘s war on workers out of Hervey Bay.

“Our members aren‘t asking for much except a fair pay increase and an expectation they’re not going backwards.”

Cleanaway contractors participated in a strike in Hervey Bay on Friday. Photo: TWU Queensland

Mr Abbot said roster changes and pay reduction would “seriously disadvantage” Cleanaway employees in the future.

“The changes that they are suggesting will have widespread impacts on the pay and conditions of drivers, attacking their hours of work and rates for working unsociable work patterns.”

A Fraser Coast Regional Council spokesperson said they were advised by Cleanaway Hervey Bay’s workforce would strike on Friday.

“We are working with Cleanaway to minimise the impact on residents, with any missed services to be completed on the weekend,” the spokesperson said.

“Residents are encouraged to leave their bins out until collected. Any resident who does not receive their regular service today or over the weekend is encouraged to contact Council on Monday.”

Affected residents can report any missed bins on their website or call customer service at 1300 79 49 29.

A Cleanaway spokesperson said the company intended to “make work more flexible and meet the needs of the modern workforce” as some workers found standard Monday to Friday shifts did not suit while the company operated a seven-day work industry.

“We are working on increasing capacity for employees to work their ordinary hours flexibly as a part of meeting that expectation, along with other initiatives such as our support for employees’ carers responsibilities,” the spokesperson said.

“The company notes that to-date, a large number of Cleanaway sites across the country have decided to vote in favour of workplace conditions of just that kind.

“Cleanaway will continue to communicate with its workforce and productively engage in progressing the workplace agreements with the aim of settling conditions that will set Cleanaway’s diverse workforce up for the future.”

The action comes after it was announced Cleanaway Solid Waste Pty Ltd was facing 12 charges including wilful environmental nuisance at an Ipswich facility.

The matter is listed before the Ipswich Magistrates Court for mention on April 24, 2023.

Cleanaway has been contacted for comment regarding the strike.

Originally published as Cleanaway workers strike for fair pay on Fraser Coast