Water workers walk off the job in ‘dramatic escalation’ to working condition disputes

In an effort described as a “last resort”, workers at Riverina Water have walked off the job in an action targeted to end “unfair and unequal working conditions.”

A long-running dispute between Riverina Water workers and the Riverina Water County Council has taken a “dramatic” turn, with United Services Union (USU) members staging a protest by walking off the job.

According to the union, the council has refused to equalise weekly working hours between outdoor and indoor employees. As it stands, the union claims that indoor staff work a 35-hour week, whereas outdoor staff continue to be rostered for 38 hours.

“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.”

Papps said the walkout was a “last resort” after repeated efforts to negotiate a fair outcome with the council continued to stall.

Despite the “last resort” label, the union and its members are more than prepared to continue the action until meaningful progress is made – claiming that Riverina Water’s upper management is “concerned about potential disruptions to essential services if the walkout continues into the week”.

Taking a broader outlook on the situation, the union has raised serious concerns around employee morale, equity, and productivity, claiming that standardising hours could boost performance, lower absenteeism, and improve staff retention.

“Riverina Water can still fix this,” said Papps.

“But they need to come back to the table with a commitment to fairness.”

In a statement given to HR Leader, a Riverina Water spokesperson said: “Riverina Water respects the right of employees to take protected industrial action.”

“We are continuing to engage in negotiations in good faith with union and staff representatives to reach a fair and sustainable outcome. Our priority is to ensure there is no disruption to essential water services for our community.”

Similarly, just last week, pay negotiations between Noosa Council and its workers took a dramatic turn, with the council relaying a message to staff that “any employee who is a member of the unions and takes protected industrial action from their first shift on Thursday will be asked to leave work and will not be paid during the period of the lockout”, said Larry Sengstock, chief executive of the Noosa Council.

This led to a raucous rally outside council grounds where workers chanted that the “CEO has got to go” and “executive team takes the cream”.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.