Brisbane City Council Bargaining Update

The Services Union is by your side to make sure that this Enterprise Bargaining Agreement with the Brisbane City Council is the best yet.

Today's Meeting - Responses by Council

At the meeting today, Council gave some preliminary responses to a number of specific claims, as well as a general response to a number of key claims such as wages and hours of work.

The Council reiterated its opposition to claims by both the Rail Tram and Bus Union for a separate agreement for bus operators and the Australian Workers Union for a separate agreement for the 'outside work force'. Similar claims have been run unsuccessfully in the past, therefore Council’s response is not surprising.

The Council also confirmed that it makes salary sacrifice arrangements available to employees to the full extent permitted by law and in response to a specific claim, advised that salary sacrifice is not available for the payment of rates, as rates are a tax not a service.

Domestic Violence Leave (DVL) improvement

The Council signalled that it was prepared to increase the amount of paid DVL available from 10 days to 20 days per annum. This is in relation to a claim by The Services Union. The Council also indicated that some redrafting of the provision is necessary (as it relates to part time and casual employees) in order to bring the provision into line with the requirements of the Industrial Relations Act.

Parental Leave

The Council rejected our claim to increase the quantum of Parental Leave but has left the door open for further discussions, particularly regarding the structure of the leave.

No wage offer yet

The Council declined to put a wage offer on the table as there are a lot of claims outstanding. These include some expensive items, such as reducing the hours of work, which could impact on the size of the wage increase. The Council also made the observation that it will need to see productivity improvement to offset some of the claims made.

Nothing unusual thus far in these negotiations.

Our Union believes that productivity improvements have been substantial, and thus the wage increase required goes beyond merely tracking the CPI. This is particularly relevant given the significant cost-of-living increases in Brisbane due to rising rents and mortgage payments.

One productivity measure which we think the Council is pretty keen to access is the frequency of pays. We will be surveying members on this issue soon to ensure we have a clear understanding of your views before discussing it further.

If you know someone who has a view about this make sure they are a member of The Services Union by forwarding them this link: www.theservicesunion.com.au/tsu/join