Australian Services Union and Warrnambool council at odds over "sub-standard" pay deal

A standoff has emerged between Warrnambool City Council and the Australian Services Union (ASU) over a new pay and conditions deal, with the ASU accusing the council of trying to “ram through” a “sub-standard workplace agreement”.

The ASU is leading negotiations on a wages deal proposed to cover all regional council workers, and says Warrnambool council’s proposal of a single-enterprise agreement would “cut off workers’ avenue” to Victoria’s “first industry-wide” local government enterprise agreement.

However, the council says the model of a multi-employer enterprise agreement is “untested” and not in the best interest of its staff. 

What is a single-enterprise agreement?

A single-enterprise agreement is a negotiated agreement between a single employer and their employees for wages and conditions. 

A multi-enterprise agreement, on the other hand, is a type of agreement that involves two or more employers collectively negotiating an agreement with their employees for an overarching set of wages and conditions.

Council not opposed, but “not this time”

“This is a chance to get one, common-sense agreement in place to cover all regional council workers and a much-needed pay rise for hardworking staff,” ASU Victorian and Tasmanian branch secretary Tash Wark said in a statement.

“Instead of engaging with that process in good faith, management is seeking to ram through a sub-standard workplace agreement.”

A spokesperson for the Warrnambool council told the Brolga that the council approached the ASU in December last year to initiate negotiations. 

“The timing of this approach, more than six months before the expiry of the Enterprise Agreement, was in keeping with many past negotiations,” they said.

“There was a delay by the ASU before it then proposed a multi-party agreement.”

Warrnambool Council said its members were apprehensive about adopting a multi-employer agreement, with concerns the model is untested and “will not be resolved in a timeframe that is helpful for staff or the organisation”.

“It’s important to note that the Council is not opposed to a multi-party agreement in the future. Our message to staff and the unions is ‘not this time’,” the spokesperson said.

“We have proposed a shorter agreement (two years instead of three) so that we can begin discussing with unions how a multi-party deal could work for our staff.”

Union recommends “no” vote

The ASU is recommending staff vote “no” to the single enterprise agreement, claiming that if the agreement is supported by staff, then Warrnambool City Council workers “will be locked out of the multi-employer agreement”.

“Warrnambool Council need to respect the call of their staff to engage with this process, instead of trying to impose a rushed process and substandard set of working conditions on them,” Wark said. 

If council staff do vote against the proposed agreement, it argues they will not receive a “fair and timely pay increase”, and would re-enter negotiations with staff and the union.

The vote for the single enterprise agreement opens this Friday and closes June 23.