Charters Towers Regional rejects fair pay!

The Services Union recently undertook further pay negotiations with Charters Towers Regional Council. The main discussion item was the Council’s response to the claim we tabled at the previous meeting, namely 7% (Year 1), 5% (Year 2), and 5% or CPI (Year 3).

While the Council indicated interest in an improvement to on-call and live sewer allowances, it remained firm on its lukewarm previous offer of 4.5% (Year 1), 3.5% (Year 2) & 3% (Year 3). This proposal would clearly fail to maintain the value of your pay against inflation, and ignores the fact that you are starting from a very low benchmark. Your current agreement provided a pay uplift of 3.5% over two years; in the same period, CPI increased by 12.2%!!

To make matters worse, the Council refused to rule out a further-reduced offer if we do not accept what’s on the table! Clearly the Council has the view that it’s acceptable for you and your hard-working colleagues to take another financial hit. We will be in touch shortly to start the discussion with members about our next steps to convince the Council you are worth more.

In the meantime, we know that a strong Union is the best defence against sub-standard wages, as your colleagues at other Councils continue to demonstrate. If you work with someone who is not yet a member and agrees you deserve more, remind them  that joining is easy online.