Six months after wage negotiations began in October without resolution, members of The Services Union (TSU) working at Noosa Council stepped up their action in pursuit of a fair Enterprise Bargaining Agreement with a march down Hastings Street last Thursday and work bans placing restrictions on emails, phone calls and meetings.
The industrial action followed a stop work meeting and march in Tewantin two weeks earlier.
To chants such as “what do we want? a liveable wage”, “this corporate greed has got to go” and “workers united will never be defeated”, workers and union representatives waved union flags and walked up and down Hastings Street.
Visitors looked up from their coffees and ice-creams to watch, some even recording the passing parade on their iPhones.
Union organisers said after months of being ignored their action had led to council agreeing to further meetings.
TSU senior organiser John Denny said members had had enough of Noosa Council’s failure to recognise their worth.
“Noosa Council keeps comparing wages to Gympie Regional Council, yet a Level 3 Stream A employee in Noosa earns about $4000 less per year than their Gympie counterpart—and Gympie is now bargaining for further improvements,” Mr Denny said.
“Despite extreme cost-of-living pressures, Noosa Council expects workers to accept a wage increase that doesn’t keep up.
“Meanwhile, the Council has saved $2 million from unfilled staff positions but is spending it on a new payroll system instead of investing in its workforce.
“Staff turnover has hit 20-30 per cent since November 2024, with 30 per cent of employees already living outside the region due to affordability issues.
“Our members aren’t backing down and Noosa Council needs to put forward a meaningful offer – otherwise our members will continue their fight for a fair deal.”
One worker told Noosa Today workers just can’t afford to live in Noosa, they’d been trying to get more pay for years and workers who left weren’t being replaced.
“They just won’t employ anybody. People are doing three jobs. Everyone is snowed under. There’s just not enough people to do everything so services are going down,” the worker said.
Noosa Council CEO Larry Sengstock said council had a cordial discussion with the union representatives and the commissioner last Friday over the current Certified Agreement matter.
“It provided us with a good opportunity to outline the total package on offer, detail the process and better understand how the initial conciliation process will proceed,” he said.
“The discussions were productive, and we look forward to continuing these talks on Tuesday in Noosa,” he said.
The discussions marked the start of the mediation process through the Industrial Relations Commission.
Mr Sengstock remained committed to striking the right balance between delivering for our community, supporting our workers and maintaining financial responsibility, a council spokesperson said.
