By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
A COUNCIL worker dispute that threw local cricket into chaos and marred main streets with uncollected rubbish in Greater Dandenong is expected to end tomorrow.
Last Friday, Australian Services Union members voted to suspend work bans on preparing cricket turf pitches and emptying main street bins. Tomorrow, all council staff will vote on a revised pay offer that improves wages for the lowest-paid employees.
The rubbish collection bans, which had led to increasingly unsightly piles of trash in central Springvale and Dandenong, lasted more than four weeks. On Friday, streets were noticeably cleaner.
Workers had earlier rebuffed pay rises of 3.5 per cent a year. They had called for 4 per cent pay rises and free parking near the council’s new offices, now under construction in central Dandenong.
ASU organiser James Weissmann, who advocated that members ‘vote no’ on the original pay offer, said there had been “some movement from the council”. “We were duty-bound to present that to our members for a vote,” he said.
Greater Dandenong Council chief executive John Bennie said the union would recommend members accept the improved pay offer. “While the proposed EBA will mean an increase to our salary budget, the increase will have no impact on rates. I would like to thank the community for its patience. The council is fully committed with all our staff working together to returning this great city to one of which we are most proud.”
Negotiations had collapsed for several weeks until ASU members staged a fired-up protest outside the council’s Dandenong offices and extended bans to cricket turf pitch preparations on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the council announced it was getting advice from Fair Work Australia on lifting the work bans.
Negotiations reopened with the union and a revised pay offer was made on Thursday.
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