Rallying Gold Coast City Council workers will call on Mayor Tom Tate tomorrow to treat them with respect and meet them at the bargaining table, so they can voice their concerns about attacks on their working conditions.
Cr Tate has refused to meet with eight Unions representing council workers on a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
Workers have been calling on Gold Coast City Council for their existing working conditions to be maintained, as well as a fair 2.5% pay increase, each year for the next three years.
Electrical Trades Union Organiser Beau Malone said outdoor and indoor council workers would attend the Rally outside Gold Coast City Council Chambers from 11.30am to 2pm tomorrow.
“Mayor Tate has refused to meet with the workers or their representatives about the attacks on their conditions. And he has absurdly suggested that council workers ‘want jobs for life’,” Mr Malone said.
“No matter how he tries to spin it, this is a case of the Mayor refusing to even listen to his workforce about the concerns they face from his council’s proposed cuts.
“That’s why we are planning on making our voices heard as one tomorrow.”
Mr Malone said council were attempting to:
- Reduce overtime rates to below award rate provisions;
- Erode existing voting rights for employees on voting conditions that impact only on themselves;
- Introduce lower rates of pay for new inside workers (furthering wage inequality in positions nominally held by women workers by 83%);
- Favour the use of outsourcing work;
- Refuse to replace existing fulltime employees with new fulltime staff;
- Reduce redundancy provisions by slashing existing redeployment provisions down from 12 months to 15 weeks.
For more details contact: Beau Malone 0430 824 609 or Dan Nancarrow 0448 633 858