TASWATER has agreed to a week-long ‘‘lock down’’ with unions to resolve an impasse over a bargaining agreement, after workers yesterday y launched industrial action. Frontline employees at the council-owned company ceased work, including repairing and maintaining TasWater equipment and resetting electricals at pump stations and plants. Overtime hours, computer use and supervising or authorising contractors have also been brought to a halt. The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union had warned the measures could continue indefinitely, but has now confirmed the actions will finish on Friday following fresh developments with the water and sewerage authority's management. CEPU members will still stop work two hours early tomorrow afternoon as part of their industrial action. Discussions over TasWater employees' pay and entitlements have dragged on for several months. Workers have accused the company of attacking their public holiday pay and annual leave entitlements, with management hitting back with counter-claims of delaying tactics throughout the bargaining process. CEPU state organiser Trevor Gauld said the intensive week of negotiations, which will start on October 14, were a welcome relief for his members. He said this week’s industrial action was an unfortunate but necessary step. ‘‘The company have constantly avoided detailed discussions and we are looking forward to finally being able to thrash out an agreement," Mr Gauld said. ‘‘At the end of that process we are hopeful an agreement can be reached that is reasonable for workers to accept.’’ ‘‘We don’t have any major claims for pay rises or increases to allowances and benefits – our members just don’t want to lose what they already have,’’ he said. TasWater confirmed the negotiations s had been locked in, and said water and sewerage services would continue as normal throughout the industrial action. Professionals Australia, representing g TasWater senior staff, said its members would fulfil their own responsibilities during the industrial actions, but would not cover any of the duties of other workers taking part. Local Government Association of Tasmania spokesman Tony Foster said the quicker negotiations were resolved, the better. ‘‘It was always going to be difficult to resolve this major restructure given the amount of agreements involved in rolling three regional water corporations into one,’’ Mr Foster said. ‘‘From the owner’s perspective, as long as consumers aren’t disadvantaged in any way, we’ve got to let the process run its course.’’ TasWater has confirmed emergency response work will continue as normal.
TASWATER has agreed to a week-long ‘‘lock down’’ with unions to resolve an impasse over a bargaining agreement, after workers yesterday y launched industrial action.
Frontline employees at the council-owned company ceased work, including repairing and maintaining TasWater equipment and resetting electricals at pump stations and plants.
Overtime hours, computer use and supervising or authorising contractors have also been brought to a halt.
The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union had warned the measures could continue indefinitely, but has now confirmed the actions will finish on Friday following fresh developments with the water and sewerage authority's management.
CEPU members will still stop work two hours early tomorrow afternoon as part of their industrial action.
Discussions over TasWater employees' pay and entitlements have dragged on for several months.
Workers have accused the company of attacking their public holiday pay and annual leave entitlements, with management hitting back with counter-claims of delaying tactics throughout the bargaining process.
CEPU state organiser Trevor Gauld said the intensive week of negotiations, which will start on October 14, were a welcome relief for his members.
He said this week’s industrial action was an unfortunate but necessary step.
‘‘The company have constantly avoided detailed discussions and we are looking forward to finally being able to thrash out an agreement," Mr Gauld said.
‘‘At the end of that process we are hopeful an agreement can be reached that is reasonable for workers to accept.’’
‘‘We don’t have any major claims for pay rises or increases to allowances and benefits – our members just don’t want to lose what they already have,’’ he said.
TasWater confirmed the negotiations s had been locked in, and said water and sewerage services would continue as normal throughout the industrial action.
Professionals Australia, representing g TasWater senior staff, said its members would fulfil their own responsibilities during the industrial actions, but would not cover any of the duties of other workers taking part.
Local Government Association of Tasmania spokesman Tony Foster said the quicker negotiations were resolved, the better.
‘‘It was always going to be difficult to resolve this major restructure given the amount of agreements involved in rolling three regional water corporations into one,’’ Mr Foster said.
‘‘From the owner’s perspective, as long as consumers aren’t disadvantaged in any way, we’ve got to let the process run its course.’’
TasWater has confirmed emergency response work will continue as normal.
