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City of Sydney Council:
Every three years the USU and the other local government Unions negotiate a new City of Sydney Award with your Council’s representatives. The Award establishes the employment safety net for City of Sydney workers.
Every three years the USU and the other local government Unions negotiate a new City of Sydney Award with your Council’s representatives. The Award establishes the employment safety net for City of Sydney workers.
In recent meetings, an overwhelming 81.5% of USU members voted against Council’s pay offer.
Members have expressed support for the negotiated changes but have opposed the pay increase as it stands.
In light of this decision, your Union has notified Council of the results and requested that bargaining reconvenes as a matter of urgency to resolve the deadlock.
We’ll keep all members updated on negotiations and upcoming actions.
The negotiation team is made up of USU delegates, along with USU Organiser Peter Cole and USU Industrial Officer Bill O’Kell.
Members have strengthened their bargaining position through their participation and input for the City of Sydney (CoS) Award Log of Claims.
United Services Union members are the most important and influential people in establishing this safety net.
Your Log of Claims:
Pay
- An increase of 5% per year for the life of the agreement.
Annual bonus for staff at the top of their salary band
- Employees who have reached the top of their salary band will be entitled to an annual bonus payment of $1000 or .5% of their annual earnings, whichever is the greater.
9-day fortnight and 35-hour week for all staff
- All staff to work to a 9-day fortnight, 35-hour week roster arrangement without loss of pay.
Biological Leave and Workplace Flexibility
- The City to provide employees with twelve days leave per calendar year for the purpose of maintaining health and wellbeing in relation to biological health.
- The City will not refuse any reasonable request for work flexibility for the purpose of maintaining biological health. Requests for flexibility may include:
iv.Working from home
v.Altered ordinary hours
vi.More frequent rest breaks in lieu of a single extended break
- Biological health includes but is not limited to:
v.Menstruation
vi.Menopause/Perimenopause
vii.Fertility care
viii.Health screenings
- The City to ensure bathrooms are stocked with sanitary products.
Improve Workers Rights
- Award recognition that Delegates are entitled to represent the industrial interests of members and persons eligible to be members.
- Delegates to be entitled to reasonable communication with current members and persons eligible to be members about their industrial interests.
- The City to provide Union delegates and officials access to all new employees. A Union induction will be included as part of the City’s. The Union will be advised of the date of the City’s induction fourteen (14) days in advance to ensure union officials and delegates can conduct the Union induction seminar.
Right to Disconnect
- Employees to have a right to disconnect from work during non-working time.
- Supervisors and managers must respect employees’ periods of leave and rest days and right to disconnect from work during non-working time.
- Employees (other than on-call employees) are not to be required to read or respond to work emails or phone calls outside their working hours.
Review and improve access to penalty rates
- There are number of inconsistencies contained within the current Award between definitions and their associated penalties. The USU seeks to correct those inconsistencies.
Clarify and correct inconsistent Award clauses
Your Log of Claims:
Pay
- An increase of 5% per year for the life of the agreement.
Annual bonus for staff at the top of their salary band
- Employees who have reached the top of their salary band will be entitled to an annual bonus payment of $1000 or .5% of their annual earnings, whichever is the greater.
9-day fortnight and 35-hour week for all staff
- All staff to work to a 9-day fortnight, 35-hour week roster arrangement without loss of pay.
Biological Leave and Workplace Flexibility
- The City to provide employees with twelve days leave per calendar year for the purpose of maintaining health and wellbeing in relation to biological health.
- The City will not refuse any reasonable request for work flexibility for the purpose of maintaining biological health. Requests for flexibility may include:
iv.Working from home
v.Altered ordinary hours
vi.More frequent rest breaks in lieu of a single extended break
- Biological health includes but is not limited to:
v.Menstruation
vi.Menopause/Perimenopause
vii.Fertility care
viii.Health screenings
- The City to ensure bathrooms are stocked with sanitary products.
Improve Workers Rights
- Award recognition that Delegates are entitled to represent the industrial interests of members and persons eligible to be members.
- Delegates to be entitled to reasonable communication with current members and persons eligible to be members about their industrial interests.
- The City to provide Union delegates and officials access to all new employees. A Union induction will be included as part of the City’s. The Union will be advised of the date of the City’s induction fourteen (14) days in advance to ensure union officials and delegates can conduct the Union induction seminar.
Right to Disconnect
- Employees to have a right to disconnect from work during non-working time.
- Supervisors and managers must respect employees’ periods of leave and rest days and right to disconnect from work during non-working time.
- Employees (other than on-call employees) are not to be required to read or respond to work emails or phone calls outside their working hours.
Review and improve access to penalty rates
- There are number of inconsistencies contained within the current Award between definitions and their associated penalties. The USU seeks to correct those inconsistencies.
Clarify and correct inconsistent Award clauses
Your involvement is essential in shaping better working conditions.
Your involvement is essential in shaping better working conditions.
The raffle incentive has been structured to appreciate your involvement, and we are excited to share the details with you.
Once the City of Sydney 2024 Award is ratified, a winner will be drawn from our active USU members. The winner will have the opportunity to choose from this selection of experiences as a token of our appreciation.
