Noosa garbage collectors secure pay rise, bonus in new agreement

Garbage collectors servicing the Noosa region have secured a major win in the form of higher wages and benefits after months of industrial action.

Noosa garbage collectors when on strike to secure higher wages.

After months of strikes, Noosa garbage collectors have claimed victory, with Noosa Council waste contractor Cleanaway agreeing to a significant pay rise and additional benefits.

Workers will receive a pay rise of at least 9.68 per cent plus a $2500 end of contract bonus under the new enterprise agreement.

The agreement also stipulates legal indemnity for drivers and operators, an additional paid work break and the wage increases will be delivered five months earlier than scheduled.

Prolonged industrial action by Transport Workers Union members since February, including a full week of bringing local waste services to a smelly halt, saw Noosa’s essential waste workers protest outside the Noosa Council buildings and march through Hastings Street.

This wage rise comes after union members initially went on strike for a seven per cent pay rise with Cleanaway refusing to meet that demand.

Sunshine Coast TWU Organiser, Shane Pierpoint said union members were delighted with the better than expected result.

Garbage collectors and waste workers in Noosa went on strike after a pay negotiation between Cleanaway and the union soured.

“These local workers are thrilled with this great result, after a strong campaign from these TWU members led to improvements on what was initially offered,” Mr Pierpoint said.

In February, TWU Queensland Director of Organising Josh Millroy said wage increases at Cleanaway Noosa had not kept up with inflation over the past three years, with workers’ pay going backwards by more than three per cent if compared with inflation.

Today, Mr Millroy said the outcome reverses this trend and ensures security for workers if Cleanaway loses the Noosa Council contract in future.

“It’s a shame that it took multiple days of strike action and thousands of missed services, but that shows that as the TWU: when we fight, we win,” Mr Millroy said.

“This is the first time a Cleanaway site has locked in an end-of-contract bonus, and it sets a new standard in the waste industry traditionally plagued by insecure contracts.”

Originally published as Noosa garbage collectors secure pay rise, bonus in new agreement