Union commences pay talks at Lockyer Valley

The Services Union commenced Certified Agreement (CA) negotiations last week with Lockyer Valley Regional Council. We tabled our Union’s log of claims, which the Council undertook to respond to at the next meeting.

After much discussion, the Council agreed to backdate the new agreement to the first pay period in June 2023 and for the nominal expiry date to be three years later in June 2026. This is significant as it is always of practical importance to align the agreement’s end date with the anniversary of the final pay increase.

The Council tabled the following pay offer:

  • 4.5% from 1 July 2023 (which it has already paid)
  • 4% from 1 July 2024
  • 3% from 1 July 2025

While it’s often useful to have an early indication on the employer’s intentions, we firmly told the Council that it would need to improve the offer. We also stated in no uncertain terms that our members are not interested in the Council’s proposal to halve the current redundancy cap from 52 down to 26 weeks.

We will resume CA discussions on Thursday 12 October. While it’s still early days in the bargaining process, we can afford to take nothing for granted. The best negotiating resource is always a strong union. If you work with someone who is not yet a member, joining is easy online.  


Above: The Services Union commenced Certified Agreement negotiations last week with Lockyer Valley Regional Council.