Glenorchy turns back on latest jobs restructure

GLENORCHY City Council has ditched the latest restructure of staff by CT Management, which had previously implemented a controversial $2 million redundancy program at the council.

Suspended Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston previously adjourned a council meeting considering a controversial CT Management restructure, only for the remaining aldermen to continue in her absence. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

GLENORCHY City Council has ditched the latest restructure of staff by CT Management, which had previously implemented a controversial $2 million redundancy program at the council.

The council has engaged the consultancy — headed by former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett — to the tune of more than $500,000 since 2014 without going to tender.

As part of that engagement, the number of council directors was reduced from 10 to three and $2 million was spent on redundancies.

A redundancy program was also drawn up for employees of the Glenorchy works and service depot, but Glenorchy Commissioner Sue Smith has told the Mercury that program will not go ahead.

“There will be no more redundancies at the works yard,” she said. “We are stretched thin there and we can’t go down that path.”

Australian Services Union Victorian and Tasmanian branch co-ordinator Dennis Mullins said it was a welcome move. “They are finally turning their back on some of the incredibly useless CT Management recommendations,” he said.

A second draft of the Board of Inquiry report into the council said the initial restructure program by CT Management was adopted by the now suspended aldermen without consideration of ramifications for the council and Glenorchy itself.

The redundancy program was included in a report prepared by CT Management aimed at saving the council $5.1 million by next year.

Aldermen voted on the report in February 2015 despite not seeing it beforehand.

When a summary of the report was circulated, it led to Glenorchy mayor Kristie Johnston adjourning a special council meeting so the report could be considered.

However, after Ald Johnston left the meeting, the remaining aldermen continued in her absence — and voted to accept the report without seeing it. The Board of Inquiry second draft report found that the council failed to comply with its policies, such as its code for tenders and contracts in its use of CT Management.