UPDATED, 3:15pm
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In an interview with The Courier, ASU secretary Lisa Darmanin said it was heartening the council had listened to the union's concerns, but there were still inconsistencies in the approach to workers.
"It was only because the ASU lodged the dispute with the Fair Work Commission that council agreed to grant the additional four days, while we continue to discuss matters related to planned stand-downs," Ms Darmanin said.
Ms Darmanin said while staff are being briefed by their managers daily, 'and the CEO is also keeping staff informed through a daily email,' the union is not being kept in the loop as the enterprise agreement requires.
"Messages from managers and CEO have been at times mixed, and conflicting," Ms Darmanin said, pointing out a section of councils release which says:
'We have asked a small section of our staff (approx. 200 out of 1,100) to consider taking leave if they are not able to continue to work from home due to the nature of their role or be redeployed to essential services, such as Meals on Wheels or waste collection. This has been a request only, not a direction or standing-down of any staff.'
"Council advised they intended to stand down these workers from tomorrow," Ms Darmanin told The Courier.
"So (the CEO) is technically correct that right now, there is no direction to stand down staff. They had every intention of doing so, if it had not been for the ASU action last week and over the weekend. We will see later this week if they intend on standing down anyone post Friday."
UPDATED, 2pm:
CIty of Ballarat says it will provide an additional four days of paid special leave to assist staff affected by worksite closures.
In a statement in response to questions from The Courier, the city says the decision 'is one of a raft of measures we are implementing to safeguard staff, their families and also the wider community during the COVID-19 pandemic.'
'We will provide a total of nine days of paid special leave for about 200 staff at affected sites. The City of Ballarat provides special leave to staff in exceptional circumstances. Special leave is not an entitlement under the Ballarat City Council Enterprise Agreement No 7, 2016 or the Fair Work Act.
'The organisation's provision of special leave goes above and beyond the entitlements set out in the Agreement to provide some certainty and security for staff in these unprecedented times.
'The City of Ballarat agreed to conciliate issues raised by the Australian Services Union on Saturday regarding the organisation's service modifications and facility closures. These changes have come about following Victorian and Australian Government direction, aimed at keeping our community and workforce safe. We will continue to work with the Australian Services Union around any concerns.'
EARLIER:
City of Ballarat workers will receive paid special leave for another week and council will need to consult more closely with union representatives on workers' conditions following a Fair Work Commission meeting over the weekend.
The council had made a series of decisions regarding its workforces' tenure after saying that 'not since the Great Depression has this community faced the economic prospects ahead of us.'
Casual workers at the City of Ballarat were told they would receive two weeks' pay and no longer be rostered on following meetings held by council managers and director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo last week.
READ MORE:
Full and part-time staff were informed they would need to use up their leave entitlements, including RDOs and long service leave, rather than being stood down, which would enable them to access social security payments.
The Australian Services Union (ASU), which represents many of the council's workers, sought an urgent hearing in the Fair Work Commission last Thursday after a series of inconclusive meetings with council.
A phone conference was convened over the weekend by FWC commissioner Michelle Bissett, and the parties agreed to provide additional paid special leave until next Friday, April 3.
In addition, the City of Ballarat:
- has committed to a framework for genuine consultation
- has committed to consider any ideas from union representatives to mitigate the need for stand downs. Where this is not possible, they will provide written reasons
- Any leave that members have applied for in the week beginning 30 March will revert to paid special leave, for employees who were stood down
- In relation to aquatic centre workers the City of Ballarat will honour the stand down clause in the Enterprise Agreement
The ASU would withdraw dispute applications if these terms were honoured.
In a statement ASU secretary Lisa Darmanin said it was an important win that council had agreed to genuinely consult with workers' representatives to mitigate the need for stand-down.
"The ASU values every single job at the City of Ballarat and we weren't willing to see our members stood-down, and told to use their accrued and future leave, without a fight," Ms Darmanin wrote.
"The agreement we reached at the Fair Work Commission includes workers, through their representatives on the consultative committee, having input into stand-downs."
"The City of Ballarat stood-down 108 outdoor workers last week and many of these workers planned to take leave to pay their bills. In a win for these workers, that leave will revert to paid special leave."
The Courier has sought a response from the City of Ballarat.