Since the current State Labor Government was elected in March 2023, we have had great success in having issues important to our Union and our members heard – and importantly – actioned. Manager North Stephen Hughes takes a look at some of those victories.
Federal and State reviews into rate pegging and funding have been happening simultaneously, where the USU has been highly visible and active.
The 252 million dollars currently committed by the Minns led State Government for 1300 Council directly employed apprenticeships, traineeships and cadetships, commencing in 2025 over the following 5 years is a huge win, which was started, run and won by the USU and it is only the start.
The campaign led by the USU to have Senior Staff other than General Managers (at this time) moved back under the NSW Local Government State Award, 30 years after the Greiner led Liberal State Government legislated to move them onto contracts, is a massive win.
They will now be employed under our skills-based Award, where skills and qualifications matter unlike the term contracts, where we saw many highly paid unqualified managers employed in roles of which they held no experience or qualifications in Senior Management roles, such as in engineering, planning and finance.
We need good, qualified management, who can plan, design and run their departments properly in providing good services and secure, fulfilling jobs for our USU members.
Our USU members can achieve great things if led by good, well qualified and experienced management, who both respect their workers and work with their industry Unions.
Another USU win. After 13 months of campaigning, on Wednesday 4 December NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig announced a funding commitment to ensure the Waste Collection Fleet at Lismore Council remains in-house.
To say that our affected Waste Collection members were both relieved and elated is an understatement.
The political really is personal. It affects us in so many ways.
The USU is proud of the work we do with and on behalf of our members to achieve political wins that protect our members’ jobs and conditions. We will never stop!
