Congratulations to all Essential Water USU members on your new Award. Your delegates engaged in a well organised and thought-out bargaining campaign, and we believe have delivered excellent outcome for everyone.

56 eligible members voted and 54 of you voted to accept the agreement proposed.

The highlights of the new agreement are outlined below. I understand from your delegates that management have circulated the full raft of changes, so I won’t include all of them here. If you have any questions, feel free to call Mick on 0450 020 589

  • Years 1, 2 & 3 – 3.5% wage increase
  • Year 1 & 3 – 0.5% superannuation increase
  • Current allowances to align with wage increases above
  • New Area Climate Allowance at $2.80 per day for all employees covered by the proposed agreement. Allowance to be indexed with wage increases from Year 2 of the agreement
  • Definition of family updated to include all household members
  • Primary Care Giver Increase to 18 weeks
  • Superannuation to be included on paid parental leave
  • Paid special pre-term baby leave Supporting families Paid Union Meetings
  • Paid Parental Leave for other Parent Increased to 3 weeks

A big thank you to Bryan Spangler and Neville O’Callaghan as well as our brothers and sisters in the other Unions.