Council staff fight for wages, industrial action approved by Fair Work

Staff have voted down an enterprise bargaining agreement put forth by management after more than 30 meetings of negotiation.

Leading up to the vote, the Australian Services Union claimed the EBA offered to the staff would make them the "worst" paid council staff in Victoria.

The ASU used EBAs from other Victorian councils available from the FairWork website to compare wages in comparable wage periods, broken down into hourly rates.

It claims Bendigo and Geelong council wages are at least $2 or more per hour higher and neighbouring shires like Moorabool "look after their workers better" in comparison.

They had also claimed the union had not been provided with the agreement and had asked three times for the document from the executive management.

ASU's deputy secretary Tash Wark said the vote was a win for the staff.

"It's not surprising the City of Ballarat's proposal was rejected - workers don't want a real cut to their wages,' Ms Wark said.

"Despite the ASU demonstrating clearly to the council how far they are falling behind other comparable local governments in offering reasonable pay and conditions, City of Ballarat management persisted in arguing their workers should accept being worse off."

Ms Wark said the vote for industrial action had also been put to members.

"The Fair Work Commission has also approved the ASU's application to commence a vote for protected industrial action," she said.

"This is the first step towards disruptive industrial action - action which can be avoided if City of Ballarat management come back to the table with a fair deal."

The City of Ballarat confirmed about 59 per cent of voting staff voted against the proposed new Enterprise Agreement, with about 41 per cent voting for the agreement.

Council management responded by saying management, unions and union delegates will recommence the enterprise bargaining process with the goal of negotiating an Enterprise Agreement that satisfies all parties.

"We look forward to recommencing the bargaining process in the coming weeks," a council spokesperson said.

"We hope to reach an agreement that balances the cost-of-living pressures of employees and the long-term financial sustainability of council."

The council staff's last EBA expired in September, 2023.