I want to take a moment to update you on the latest developments regarding our Enterprise Agreement (EA) negotiations.
You may be aware that last week the Australian Services Union (ASU) met with CGD members onsite regarding the EA. The ASU is proposing a multi-employer bargaining agreement across 11 metropolitan councils whose agreements are set to expire in 2025.
Following this, I – along with CEOs from the other councils – received a letter from the ASU seeking consent to participate in the proposed multi-employer agreement and have asked me to respond before the end of this month.
I am taking the time to carefully consider the request and its potential impacts on our workforce before responding to the ASU. The Executive Team and I have not yet decided our position on this matter.
It is important to note that this is new, untested legislation and no-one really knows how it will work in practice.
What we do know is the City of Greater Dandenong has a long history of productive negotiations that have delivered terms and conditions that are well reputed to be are favourable for our staff.
My commitments to you in relation to EA negotiations:
- We will keep you informed throughout this process and will share our response to the ASU (and other unions that represent our people) with you.
- We will comply with good faith bargaining principles and our current EA, in both the spirit and the letter.
- We will commit sufficient resources to ensure Council is able to clearly hear your feedback, work through negotiations efficiently and avoid any unnecessary delays.
Our current EA commits us to commencing the re-negotiation process by 1 April 2025, and our plan had been to initiate bargaining in February. This would allow enough time to reach an agreement before our current EBA expires on 30 June 2025. The planned timeline would have provided certainty for staff and Council around terms, conditions, and pay rates from 1 July onwards.
However, the proposal for a multi-employer bargaining agreement significantly impacts this timeline.
Involving 10 other Councils would inevitably add to the complexity of negotiations, and extend the time required to reach a new agreement – therefore delaying any pay-rises.
There are other considerations that we will weigh up before responding to the ASU.
To ensure transparency and provide easy access to key updates, we have launched a dedicated page on The Source, where you can stay informed about the latest developments.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work for our CGD community. We will continue to keep you updated as we progress through this process.
Best regards,
Jacqui Weatherill, Chief Executive Officer