In a decisive move, the Councillors of Byron Shire Council reached a unanimous agreement to discontinue funding for the Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) service, opting instead to sell its operations to a private sector business. This decision marks a significant shift in the Council’s approach to community services.
Among those directly affected by this change were two dedicated USU members, Rohan Hood and Jane Kilburn, who had both devoted considerable years, time and effort to the OSHC program. As a result of the Council’s decision, they were offered redundancy packages reflecting their length of service. After careful consideration, Rohan and Jane chose to accept the generous offer, which included 34 weeks of pay, their healthy entitlements, and an additional 11.5% superannuation. This financial support provides them with a degree of security as they transition to new opportunities outside of the Byron Shire Council.
Once the members had carefully reviewed and signed the redundancy package, Rohan and Jane reached out to the Organiser to express concerns about potentially receiving a payment that fell short of the initial offer. In the aftermath of this discussion, it became apparent that Byron Shire Council had made a significant decision: they had unilaterally deducted the 11.5% superannuation from the final payment without prior consultation with the affected members.
USU action gets results
Emails exchanged between the Organiser and the HR Manager resulted in a complete rejection of payment to the members. In discussions with Acting IR Officer Luke Hutchinson and the Organiser, it was agreed that a letter from the USU to the General Manager was necessary to seek a response and to secure the initial offer from Byron Shire Council.
The General Manager, Mark Arnold, reached out to the USU, agreeing to facilitate the payment of superannuation benefits for the members.
