Water workers edge closer to 4-day work week after industrial dispute

Continued bargaining dispute proceedings have brought Riverina Water workers one step closer to trialing a four-day work week if they accept their employer’s proposal.

A “rigorous” long-running dispute process involving Riverina Water and its employees aligned with the United Services Union (USU) and Electrical Trades Union (ETU) is slowly beginning to de-escalate after “dramatic” moments of industrial action.

As previously reported by HR Leader, union-aligned workers and the Riverina Water County Council have been in a workplace dispute over “unfair and unequal working conditions”, which recently featured workers walking off the job in protest.

“Riverina Water is asking some of its workers to donate 4.1 weeks of their time each year – unpaid – simply because they work outdoors. That’s not just unfair, it’s unsustainable,” said USU acting general secretary Daniel Papps.

“Equal work should mean equal conditions. These workers deserve the same respect, the same time with their families, and the same hours as their colleagues inside the office.”

After the contentious standoff between the parties, through the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), a proposed agreement was put forward by the council, which – despite the union claiming the council “sidesteps” full harmonisation of hours in the proposal – the parties reached an in-principle agreement.

The decision now resides in the hands of union members who will vote on the proposal.

A key feature in the proposal is the plan to trial a four-day work week, with employees who are currently working 38 hours per week to undergo a condensing of these hours into four days from August 2025 to February 2026.

On top of that, if this trial proves successful based on agreed measures, the four-day roster will become permanent moving forward.

As part of the proposal, workers will also receive an added day’s leave if a rostered day off coincides with a public holiday. Participating employees will also take a standard 30-minute lunch break.

On the wage front, workers would receive a 14 per cent wage increase over three years, with 6 per cent to be paid as early as July 2025 – followed by 4 per cent in July 2026 and 4 per cent in July 2027.

According to the USU, parties are due to report back to the IRC on 20 June 2025 for an update on the consultations and pathway forward.