WHEELIE BIN MARCH AND RALLY TOWN HALL: NEW SYDNEY GARBAGE CONTRACTS RIP OFF WORKERS, RESIDENTS

A protest will Town Hall today against new Sydney council contracts which rip off workers and residents: with garbos being told to take a $200 pay cut or lose their jobs.

TWU Secretary Wayne Forno addresses the rally

Protestors rallied at Town Hall tomorrow then marched to City of Sydney offices in Kent Street with a massive convoy of wheelie bins to deliver a petition to Clover Moore.

“Sydney City Council changed garbage contractors from Veolia to URM on 9 March, and since then over 40 waste workers were sacked, and told to reapply for their jobs with a $200 pay cut and all their entitlements trashed,” said TWU State Secretary Wayne Forno today.

“Who gets to pocket their $200 pay cut? Did the residents get a rate reduction or better services? They need to come clean with residents.

“This is outrageous. We’re asking Sydney City Council to push URM into talking to us so we can get a fair deal for their existing workers; and to lead the way and make sure this doesn’t happen again through an enforceable policy that new contract tenders for waste maintain workers’ pay rates and conditions.

“We also call on the NSW Government to make this an across the board regulation so all councils adopt this enforceable policy – because this will happen everywhere if we don’t stop it here and now.

“Currently under the new Modern Award, when contracts change companies can get away with paying workers less – a lot less, $200 per week in the case of these Sydney City waste workers.

On the front line at Town Hall steps

“Former Sydney City garbage contractor Veolia was a model company, employing their people on an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiated with our Union - which gave them fair pay and entitlements for the hard and let’s be honest, often unpleasant job they do.”

“We’re fighting for the sacked workers who refused to join URM, and send our support to those workers who were forced, by financial and family pressures, to reapply for their jobs for $200 a week less and accept a rotten deal with URM.

“With the trashy working conditions URM offer their people it’s no surprise they’re now giving residents a trashy service. You get what you pay for – and the pay and working conditions at URM stink, so how can you expect the people to be able to do their job properly?

Michael Cooke, of Revesby, lost his job when the Sydney City contracts changed.

“I still haven’t got a job and I’ve got two kids to support,” he said. “This is hard work and we deserve fair pay for it. Once I nearly chopped my finger off when I jammed my finger in between a skip bin and a wall. Your’e picking up rubbish which could have anything, even syringes in it – you could easily jab yourself. You can do your back in any time – I’ve lifted around 80 kilos worth of weight.”

John Robinson, of Coogee, a Veolia waste worker, delegate and OHS Committee Chair, said, “There’s no way you can take a $200 pay cut. Is your interest rate going down too? Your rent? Your power bill? How can you justify a pay cut when everything else is going up?”

“Everyone is invited to join the march, show their support for our garbage collectors and residents, because this race to the bottom rips everybody off – everyone wants a fair go, fair pay, and everyone wants their garbage taken away,” said Mr Forno.

“If we don’t stop this right here and now, it will spread all over NSW like a rotten plague.”