Melbourne council workers protest

By Kim Linden

MELBOURNE -- Workers at Moreland Council, which covers the northern inner suburbs, have slapped bans on collecting rubbish and are refusing to collect some parking fines in their fight for better redundancy packages and conditions for staff employed by private companies which are taking over council services.

The council employees are members of the Australian Services Union (ASU), the Municipal Employees Union, the Australian Nurses Federation and the Australian Professional Engineers and Scientists Association. The bans cover one of Melbourne's biggest thoroughfares, Sydney Road, reaching the Glenroy shopping centre and surrounding areas.

Management has avoided paying the agreed redundancy package, the G17 agreement, which includes a $2000 counselling and retraining payment, a $5000 lump sum, pro rata for part-time employees, and a minimum one week's pay in lieu of notice of termination for staff employed by private contractors (this increases with years of service).

The ASU is concerned that workers are not getting their full entitlements and that awards in local government are being eroded by conditions determined by the private sector.

The council has referred the dispute to the Industrial Relations Commission.

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