The TWU has slammed Cleanaway for using a loophole to withdraw from all terms it had agreed to in bargaining, erasing 13 months of negotiating progress, just days before Christmas.
Earlier this year, waste workers at Erskine Park and at other sides around NSW were left with no choice but to take industrial action after Cleanaway’s attempts to send workers’ pay and conditions backwards during a cost of living crisis.
TWU NSW Branch Secretary Richard Olsen said it was appalling for Cleanaway to be ramping up attacks on workers right before Christmas.
“Cleanaway must immediately reverse its decision to blow up this agreement after a mammoth 13 months of negotiations.”
“Cleanaway’s tactics during a cost of living crisis and just days before Christmas are an insight into just how low this company will go to bully waste workers, who perform critical services for our communities, into submission.”
“We urgently need our laws to change so that employers acting in bad faith can’t bully workers into accepting sub-standard agreements by ripping away positions they’ve agreed to in bargaining.”
The TWU will return to the Fair Work Commission next year.
