We’ve all seen it before – realignments, rebalances, refreshes… whatever your employer calls it, it usually means one thing: restructure!
Recently this happened at City of Sydney Council when management announced another ‘rebalance’ in the library services, just over a year after the last ‘realignment’.
Like the feedback received during the original restructure, members shared concerns about being treated like numbers instead of people and the changes being rushed, non-negotiable and disconnected from the reality on the ground.
Once the USU was notified and members expressed their grievance with the process, we wrote to Council to advocate for proper consultation and the restructure be paused.
Following a meeting with management, Council has agreed to put the restructure on hold. A series of meetings was arranged to begin genuine engagement, starting with a ‘clear the air’ session where Council committed to listening to staff concerns and reflecting on what has gone wrong in the process so far.
Council has also confirmed that consultation will start again from scratch. This time, all affected staff and the union will have 10 full days to provide feedback before any new proposal is considered.
The USU will continue to back members throughout this process to make sure that happens.
This is why unionising your workplace matters. Workers have power when they stand together and voice their concerns as one. That’s the strength of a union.
