Parks and Gardens workers at Liverpool City Council were regularly coming across discarded needles, blood-contaminated materials and other infectious waste while carrying out their work.
The Local Government (State) Award provides a Level 2 Adverse Working Conditions Allowance when employees are required to work in highly offensive, filthy or obnoxious conditions. However, there was no clear process for determining when the allowance should apply.
Members Gathered the Evidence
Rather than accepting the uncertainty, more than 80 Parks and Gardens members signed a mass grievance and began documenting what they were encountering on the job.
Photographs of syringes, contaminated materials and other biohazards demonstrated the genuine infection risks workers were being exposed to during their day-to-day duties.
A Clearer Process
Following advocacy by the USU and discussions with Council, members have secured a practical framework for assessing claims for the Level 2 Adverse Working Conditions Allowance.
Where workers are exposed to hazardous or infectious materials that present a genuine infection risk, claims will now be supported by photographic evidence and assessed against the Award. Routine litter collection and general waste handling will not qualify.
A Step in the Right Direction
This outcome provides greater certainty around an important Award entitlement and creates a transparent process for assessing future claims.
Just as importantly, the new process will build evidence of how regularly Parks and Gardens workers are exposed to these hazards. The Union hopes this evidence will demonstrate the ongoing nature of the work and support the permanent application of the Level 2 Adverse Working Conditions Allowance for affected workers.
