By Parker McKenzie
Union members who are employed at Eastern Regional Libraries went on strike this morning, with the Lilydale and Yarra Junction branches closing for four hours as a result.
Members of the Australian Service Union held the strike from 9am to 1pm on Wednesday 14 September, as they ask for a 3 per cent pay rise, a minimum of three-hour shifts for casuals and minimum staffing levels at branches.
Eastern Regional Libraries Chief Executive Joseph Cullen said because the Your Library beneficial enterprise is supported by Maroondah, Knox and Yarra Ranges Councils, “we aren’t in a position to offer much more than the rate cap” of 1.75 per cent.
“We sat down with the union on Monday and put a revised offer to them yesterday afternoon,” Mr Cullen said.
“They decided to go ahead with the action, but to be fair to the union we made the offer quite late yesterday.”
The offer increased the pay rise from 1.8 per cent to 2 per cent per annum for three years.
Mr Cullen said the lowest paid full-time employee earned $36.88 an hour, above the minimum dictated in the Local Government Award and higher than the median pay of the three-member councils.
“My door is always open and we respect the staff’s right to enter protected industrial action,” he said.
“Only two libraries were closed this morning —one in Lilydale and Yarra Junction — which was a good result.”
Mr Cullen said Eastern Regional Libraries would continue to meet with the union for further discussions and he believes an agreement is likely to be reached.
Negotiations regarding a new enterprise bargaining agreement have been ongoing for over a year.
On 25 August, Australian Services Union secretary Lisa Darmanian said the workers are determined to get a decent pay rise, a fair go for casual workers and safety at their workplace.
“Members of the Australian Services Union want to reach agreement on the enterprise agreement and will continue to ramp up their protected industrial action until library management starts to listen.” she said.
Previous industrial action launched by union members included interrupting or stopping work to remove name badges, attaching enterprise bargaining agreement campaign material or putting on union-related clothing, an indefinite ban on performing work in clothes that doesn’t have EBA campaign material or in non-union related clothes, waiving photocopying or printing charges by library members and voicing campaign messages.
Your Library was created when Eastern Regional Library Corporation was wound up for administrative reasons under the Local Government Act 2020, with each of Maroondah, Knox and Yarra Ranges Councils being represented on the board by two councillors each, alongside a corporate representative from each council.
More to come.
