URM members forced into protected action

Thirty members working for United Resource Management’s Warringah Council contract have voted unanimously to take protected action after the company refused to negotiate over drastic pay cuts in the Modern Award.

 
“These conditions have already seen a high turnover of staff,” TWU organiser Darcy Waller said. “If citizens of Warringah Council want reliable and safe waste collection, they must exert pressure on their councillors to insist on fair tenders.
 
“There is a correlation between rates of pay and safety, and URM is clearly underpaying its employees.”  
 
The protected action, a 24-hour stoppage, is the result of more than eight months of fruitless negotiation between the TWU and URM.
 
Warringah Council has distanced itself from the dispute, saying that the matter is between the TWU and URM.
 
“That’s not good enough,” Mr Waller said. “When council decides to award a tender, it can’t duck its responsibility to the community — especially when it is overwhelmingly clear that lowest-cost contracting enriches the employer at the expense of employees and ratepayers.”