Parking officers at Waverley Council are all USU members. Together with the workplace delegates and USU Organiser they have secured better work entitlements.
After reviewing a clause in councils old EBA the parking officers began discussions to re-implement the entitlement based on the 7-day work roster they have. After roughly a year of negotiating council have agreed to honour the old agreement, meaning parking officers will be paid time in lieu or receive an extra day of pay for any public holiday they don’t work.
Members have a say
Guarav
How has the union been supportive in this experience?
“Our union has been great; the organiser has gone to great extent of doing the investigation in terms of how other departments are getting paid for public holidays and coming up with a solution and the correct approach to address the matter. We got the desired outcome for all USU members in the parking officers’ team.”
George
Has there been financial gain for employees and what does it mean to you?
“There has been a substantial difference to our take home pay. Considering the recent inflation and cost of living, it has made a considerable contribution to easing financial burdens for all union members in the team. It has greatly improved our family and home life as we now have more time to spend with our families.”
Kerry
How has being a union member helped improve the working conditions of the parking officers?
“It has kept the Council accountable for their actions, resulting in a fair and equitable outcome. Adjustments have been made to improve the day-to-day work life of union members. It has made a substantial difference to our take home pay for all union members in the team.”
Guarav
How important do you think the union’s role is in securing additional income and benefits for its members?
“The union plays a crucial role in securing additional income and benefits for us. The union knows what avenues to go down to improve our pay and working conditions and helps to guide us through the best way to achieve this. The Council would not offer to do this for us, it is only because we are all members of the union that we are able to secure such improvements to our pay and conditions.”
