MEMBERS FIGHT OUTSOURCING @ SHOALHAVEN – AND WIN

Rain could not dampen the spirits of USU members at Shoalhaven Council after they found out that council planned on outsourcing cleaning staff. Our members stood and said NO.

They stood up to Shoalhaven Council and the reprehensible actions to outsource local secure jobs, taking industrial action in support of their fellow members.

Local secure jobs are the cornerstone of communities and the United Services Union will fight to protect Local jobs across NSW.

Since our members’ industrial action a few things have happened:

• We placed pressure on the elected councillors and engaged in productive discussion with the mayor, that led to her issuing a mayoral minute as a policy direction to engage staff over contractors and labour hire.
• We filed the council in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission and pressed the council on the contracting of work, the underfunding of the parks area and the labour hire and contractor misuse at the waste services.

Great result! new jobs created
Following the decisive action taken by the members of the USU including taking of industrial action and Ongoing use of the disputes procedures we have achieved several positive outcomes for our members

First it was discovered that the waste services division of council was engaging and misusing an excessive number of labour hire and contractors. Following ongoing proceedings with the union the council has now announced that they will move to create 22 new permanent jobs at Shoalhaven City Council replacing the need for fixed term and labour hire employees. This proposal provides certainty and job security for our members across council.

Further the Mayor Amanda Findley has since released a mayoral minute establishing the culture and views of the Councillors and that is that management are to prioritise the employment of secure council jobs over the use of contractors and labour hire. This is beneficial and hopefully changes the actions of the council in engaging contractors over staff into the future.

Finally in terms of the parks and gardens area the union has pressed the council to provide further written clarification and detail as to the funding for the area, the council’s intentions for the service and what will occur into the future. While it does not provide an immediate fix it places a clear position on the council surrounding what their operational plans are and give the union an ability to challenge any attack on our members into the future.

Our delegates and members actions have achieved this great result and it demonstrates what can be achieved when our members collectively take action on matters they felt needed to be corrected.