Hobart City Council staff consider industrial action, threaten to stop collecting parking fines, rates

Hobart City Council staff could stop collecting parking fines and rates from the community amid tense negotiations with management over a new pay deal.

Michael Stretton, the City of Hobart CEO. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The Hobart City Council is facing a substantial hit to its revenue as a dispute between staff and management threatens to boil over into industrial action, which could include work stoppages and a refusal to collect parking fines from the community.

It comes amid tense negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement, with the council proposing wage increases of 3 per cent for all staff in the first two years of the deal.

Years three and four of the agreement would provide pay rises at the level of the consumer price index (CPI), with a base of 2 per cent and a cap of 4 per cent.

Hobart CPI is currently 2.75 per cent.

The Australian Services Union (ASU), which represents local government workers, has described the offer as “inadequate”.

Australian Services Union Tasmanian and Victorian branch secretary Tash Wark. Picture: Supplied

ASU Tasmanian and Victorian branch secretary Tash Wark said union members at the council would this week be voting on a motion to launch industrial action as relations with management continue to deteriorate.

“These … deficient wage offers at the City of Hobart are symptomatic of a council in disarray and denial about its own poor management,” she said.

Ms Wark said potential industrial action would involve a wide range of measures, such as stop-work actions, overtime bans, and not collecting fines and rates.

“It’s time the council addressed the dysfunction of its own management, gave ratepayers and workers value for money by ending bloated, secretive practices and got back to the bargaining table,” Ms Wark said.

Voting on the motion closes on Friday.

Hobart City Council rakes in big money from parking fines. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The action threatens to cost Hobart City Council thousands of dollars a day. Estimated council revenue from parking fines and carparking in its 2023-24 budget was more than $29.4m, which is about $80,300 a day.

Hobart City Council CEO Michael Stretton said the offer to workers was “comprehensive” and came on top of 12.7 per cent in wage increases over the past two financial years.

“In addition to the new general wage offer there is an increase to the employer super contribution of 0.5 per cent in July 2024 and July 2025, which will ensure superannuation is 1.5 per cent above the government-mandated super contribution,” he said.

“There are also significant wage increases for juniors, trainees and apprentices under the proposed offer.”

Pay rises under the new employment agreement would be back paid to July 2024.

Ms Wark accused management of seeking to weaken redundancy entitlements and scrap a CPI safety net, which Mr Stretton said was “incorrect”.

“The city is proposing measures that will further strengthen the new enterprise bargaining agreement,” he said.

Originally published as Hobart City Council staff consider industrial action, threaten to stop collecting parking fines, rates