Ballarat City Council members hard-fought EBA campaign

01 July 2024

Congratulations to ASU members at Ballarat City Council for fighting a hard-fought campaign for a better wage deal and conditions.

ASU members participated in effective work bans including a ban on collection of public litter bins and issuing parking fines. ASU members also undertook work stoppages during a library opening, the Art Gallery during the White Night festival and during peak residential waste collection times. This action was often taken in the face of management pressure and in some cases threats. We are so proud of every member who stood up and was counted during this fight!

Unfortunately, we have narrowly lost the second vote on the enterprise agreement. It is always heartbreaking to lose a vote, but especially so with just 54% voting to approve the agreement.

However, we should not lose sight of the wages and conditions that we have won through this process and that were secured through the action. These improvements include;

• 3.5% wage offer every year, for three years
• 2 extra sick leave days
• Increased parental leave to 20 weeks for the primary carer and 6 weeks for the secondary carer
• Allowances improvements

These improvements were won by ASU members standing united and strong, across indoor and outdoor workplaces!

This workplace is stronger and more organised as a result of this campaign. Nearly 50 new members have signed up over the past two months and we have new delegates elected. Due to management’s stalling throughout this process, we will be back at the table very soon, and will be fighting again for parity with other Councils!