Hobsons Bay council employees are threatening 24-hour strikes, including work bans such as not mowing parks, cleaning up rubbish or processing building permits, under a bitter industrial dispute.
A council source, who asked not to be identified, told Star Weekly workers were demanding greater employment security amid fears of outsourcing. Workers are due to vote on a new enterprise agreement next month.
Union members will stage a meeting outside the Hobsons Bay Civic Centre in Altona at lunchtime on Wednesday.
“After the loss of the childcare centres, it’s now understood aged care and depot operations are next,” the source said.
“There are four unions involved in a no-vote to the EBA. The council workers are … undertaking another vote for the second time in four to six weeks.
“This is gonna blow up big-time. We’ve got protected work bans ready to be commenced.”
A list of 49 potential industrial actions also includes work bans on collecting rates, street cleaning, filling potholes, issuing parking fines, picking up dead animals, answering phone calls or reading and responding to emails from the chief executive , directors, managers or councillors.
Australian Services Union branch co-ordinator Billy King said employees were concerned about the “history of council contracting out services like childcare, which they did a couple of years ago”.
“We have job security on the line and we’re going to be telling our members that they need to start taking protected industrial action,” he said.
“That would be periodic or indefinite bans on performance of work, so stuff like no overtime, not answering phone calls for certain periods … What we’re after is … giving us a go at tendering for our own jobs.”
A council spokesman said unions meeting with their members was a normal event during an enterprise agreement process.
