The USU, your Union, has lodged proceedings before the New South Wales Industrial Commission. The USU is seeking orders to ensure Council upholds their commitments to undertake a Salary System review in accordance with the Enterprise Agreement.

As you may be aware, the CEO sent an all staff email on Thursday 28th May 2020 attempting to put the Salary System review project ”on hold” with without any consultation or discussions held with your Union representatives.

This project was a key commitment resolved in the EA negotiations. Following the CEO making this apparent decision in isolation, the USU and other Union parties to the Agreement filed disputes before the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission. These disputes demonstrate a clear intention by the USU to challenge any failure of Council to uphold their commitments to the Enterprise Agreement.

The USU was very pleased with the initial outcomes of the conciliation hearing held on 15th June 2020. These included;

  1. A timetable of actions and targets to progress the Salary System review to be produced and sent to the NSW IRC by Friday 19th June 2020.
  2. Any current work which has been undertaken for Council / project team by Mastertek (the new job evaluation tool / provider) will be distributed to the Unions for review and genuine consultation.
  3. Processes to be resolved between the parties to ensure a viable Salary System review process is enacted as per the EA and genuine intent of the parties.
  4. A report back to the NSW IRC to monitor ongoing progress has been scheduled for Monday 22nd June 2020

Any further outcomes will be provided to the membership following the next scheduled IRC hearing.

The Union Services Union, your Union, will always ensure Newcastle Council is held accountable to the EA.

We are stronger together!

USU Members Contact

Concerned about issues in your workplace? Contact your USU representatives as below to ensure YOUR rights are being upheld. Keven Burgess – 0400 391 311, Tony Priestley – 0407 092 614, Craig Perrin 0402 303 223, Brent Milsom 0447 272 624, Shane Hardy 0419 467 071 (NCC Depot) or Ross Warren – (02) 4974 2307 (NCC Admin Building) or Emma Callaghan / Jake Fly – NCC Libraries.

Alternatively, you can also contact me on 0419 761 323 or lhutchinson@usu.org.au