Vote on the type of EA you want – A message from the CEO
Our current Enterprise Agreement (EA) finishes at the end of June this year and it’s time for us to get together and negotiate a new one.
As I mentioned in my last EA update, this year is different because before we can start negotiations, we need a decision on the type of EA we are going to have. The law has changed and there are now two choices:
- An EA like we have today that is negotiated between just the City of Greater Dandenong and its employees and their representatives; or
- A new multi-employer EA that would be one big agreement covering up to 11 councils and the employees of all those councils together including us.
The Australian Services Union (ASU) recently wrote to me and the CEOs of 10 other councils asking for us to consent to the new multi-employer approach.
I promised to consider that request very carefully with our Executive Team, and I shared at my recent Town Hall meetings that I wanted to know what the majority of employees want.
Finding out what our Workforce wants – A Ballot
In order to hear which type of EA you prefer, we will be engaging an independent, arms-length provider to conduct a secret ballot. The vote will be a conducted over 14 days between 13 and 27 March.
We will give you all the details on how to have your say in the lead up to this ballot.
The ASU Petition vs the Greater Dandenong Ballot/Vote
I appreciate the ASU has already been running a petition across all the 11 councils it wants involved in a big multi-employer negotiation.
Our ballot will be different to the union petition and run separately. It is important we do this to find out what our staff want. It will:
- Only be for Greater Dandenong employees
- Be completely independent of all parties, and arm’s length
- Give each of you a unique identifier so only those eligible to vote on our new EA can vote on the ballot, and each person can only vote once
- Be completely anonymous. Neither Council nor our unions will know how you voted
What’s the timeline for negotiations?
If more than 50% of staff decide they want to pursue the new multi-employer EA, we can’t start negotiations until:
- Our current EA expires at the end of June, and
- The Fair Work Commission allows us to start (the Commission has to approve the multi-employer approach)
- Negotiations for the new EA – including pay increases – would start later in the year and would then involve up to 11 councils all putting what they want on the table.
If there’s not support from more than 50% of our staff for the multi-employer approach, then we hope to commence negotiations for a new Single Enterprise Agreement – including pay increases – by the end of March. The process will be as it has been for previous EAs.
Our leadership approach
The ASU shared in its flyer that it believes negotiating with 11 councils all at once strengthens the bargaining power of employees and will empower industrial action. Greater Dandenong City Council is keen to avoid industrial action and get to a fair deal efficiently.
My commitment to you is that Greater Dandenong will comply with good faith bargaining principles and our current EA, in both the spirit and the letter.
All of these considerations are why we want to hear what you want. There will be lots more information to help you make your decision, including practical information regarding the vote in March.
There are already a number of FAQs on The Source, including about this ballot, and you can also send new questions to OurEA@cgd.vic.gov.au. New questions will be added to the FAQ for all to see.
