Union resolves safety concerns at Somerset Regional Council
The Services Union met with Moreton Bay Regional Council yesterday to continue negotiations for your new agreement (EBA5).
Key issues discussed were:
- Updating the Natural Disaster Leave clause to allow employees to access this leave without having to wait for a ‘declaration of a disaster situation’. The recent flood event was not a declared disaster and many employees at Council couldn’t access this leave despite not being able to leave their own homes due to flooding!
- Ensuring that the CEO can’t stop you receiving your full redundancy entitlement of up to a maximum of 58 weeks. The current clause has led to two of our members being provided with only 16 weeks’ pay after nearly 60 years of service between them with the Council!
- Ensuring that members who work any 5 in 7 shifts in libraries, galleries, and museums get paid decent penalty rates! We highlighted that the point of any 5 in 7 is to give extra flexibility to Council to open their facilities on the weekend – not to short-change a low paid and predominantly female group of workers.
The Council will be responding to most of our claims at the next meeting which is in Strathpine on the 4th of May.