Union delivers weekend backpay

The Industrial Court of Queensland upheld The Services Union’s case that a library assistant at Moreton Bay Regional Council was short-changed by a flexibility agreement around weekend work.

Only a Union can deliver this outcome!

While the complex and carefully reasoned decision accepted the Council’s argument that the variation to the 2014 Local Government Award which occurred in 2016 was invalid, the Court upheld the validity of the 2017 Award and the current Queensland Local Government Industry (Stream A) Award.

What does all this mean?

Our very happy member Tania Peters will receive some backpay in the near future, as will other members who have signed up to flexibility agreements under the 2014 Award. Members who believe they might have similar entitlements should register here so we can assess your claim.

This case has taken years to finalise, and our legal expenses have run into the tens of thousands of dollars. As your ally in the workplace, we’re happy to have spent this money to achieve justice for our members.

There is a related argument which The Services Union has been running with the Council about the rate of accrual of personal leave. This should also now move to a successful conclusion.

What are the chances of any individual being able to achieve this outcome against a Council prepared to spend significant amounts on defending its ability to short-change some of its lowest-paid staff? “Not great odds” is probably the fairest answer.