A strike action by garbage collectors in Canberra's northern suburbs has been suspended until next week, following a dispute regarding the required notification for industrial action.
Transport Workers Union secretary Klaus Pinkas, who represents the garbage collectors, said the confusion was based on whether Good Friday and Easter Monday - both public holidays - could be counted as days of notification.
Sita Australia's corporate affairs manager Luke Schepen said on Monday the company had applied to the Fair Work Commission for orders to stop the industrial action, as it believed the strike did not comply with the requirements on the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Commission requires a strike action to follow a three day notification period. The TWU announced the strike on Wednesday afternoon last week with action to begin from 6.30am on Wednesday.
Advertisement
Mr Pinkas said the TWU and Sita Australia have re-opened communications although no resolution to the dispute has been agreed upon.
"The issue could have gone to court but we've decided to postpone the strike to be on the safe side," he said.
Garbage collectors had planned to strike on Wednesday and Thursday of this week with more than 95 per cent of Transport Workers Union members supporting action after negotiations for a new collective agreement failed.
Mr Pinkas said workers were $100 to $150 worse off each week under their new arrangement, which took effect when Sita took over the garbage collection contract in October last year, although he admitted the changes were "complicated”.
“At the end of the day, the guys just care what their payslip says at the end of the week,” he said.
Mr Schepen said the Transport Worker's Union's claim that drivers were working the same hours for less money was false.
"We pay them wage rates that are the same, overtime rates that are the same and allowances that are the same or greater that they used to receive," he said.
"To date the only evidence we have been provided with is anecdotal and clearly does not relate to an apples and apples comparison in relation to the number of hours worked.
"The four-day work week that the TWU is seeking has no other purpose than to increase take home pay and will limit productivity improvements and adversely impact the efficient rostering of services for the residents of the ACT."
Garbage collectors are yet to decide on what days to strike on next week, although a decision was expected to be made on Wednesday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment