Yarra City Council – Minutes
Council Meeting – 11 October 2005

COUNCIL RESOLUTION
Moved: Councillor Jolly Seconded: Councillor Maltzahn

1. That:
(a) Council policy, including policy guiding securing contractors, be guided by the above principles (also quoted below):

(i) “Yarra Council is committed to protecting workers’ rights. Particularly, in August 2005, Yarra Council voted unanimously to continue to only offer Enterprise Bargaining Agreements to its directly employed workers. In addition, Council’s current Enterprise Bargaining Agreement with Yarra staff states that Council believes in the ‘promotion of a people (life/family) friendly work environment and a respected and supported staff.’

(ii) Council believes that much of both past and proposed changes by the Federal Government will negatively impact on secure employment and reasonable wages and conditions, and will adversely affect Yarra residents and workers.

(iii) Council believes the uneven power balance between an individual worker and employer means that Australian Workplace Agreements often lead to reductions in wages and conditions, and is consequently opposed to any attempts, including by the Federal Government, to impose Australian Workplace Agreements on workers.

(iv) Council is committed to doing everything in its legal power to promote secure employment and reasonable wages and conditions, including ensuring that all contractors used by the City of Yarra provide for Enterprise Bargaining Agreements for their workers.

(v) Council recognises that there are particular issues for small contractors, but also that recent and mooted federal industrial relations changes mean that they may also need protection of their basic rights.”

(b) Council seek further legal and other advice, including from union industrial lawyers;

(c) a report for the November cycle of Council be prepared to advise Council how to concretely apply these principles in our contracts, and that this report include a draft motion that can be considered at the November Council meeting;

2. That Council:
(a) requires that Council officers, subject to legal constraints, report to Council annually on the form of industrial organisation employed by contractors;

(b) requires, subject to legal constraints, that the form of industrial organization employed by respondents to a tender be included in the report for the awarding of contracts;

(c) reaffirms its support for the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement and the negotiation of the EBA with the ASU as the democratic representative of Council employees;

(d) supports the State ALP Governments in pursuing action to challenge the stripping away of workers’ rights;

(e) supports the ACTU’s campaign against the Howard government’s stripping away of workers’ rights and directs that $5,000 be donated to support the campaign to protect workers’ rights;

(f) supports the right of Yarra residents and workers to collective bargaining, trade union membership and site access by union representatives; and

3. That copies of this resolution be forwarded to the ASU, ACTU, all Victorian Local Governments and the State Minister for Industrial Relations.

The motion was put and carried.
A division was called, resulting in:

FOR: Cr Barbara, Cr D’Agostino, Cr Farrar, Cr Fristacky, Cr Jolly,
Cr Maltzahn, Cr Meadows, Cr Morton and Cr Sekhon

AGAINST: Nil.

The motion was declared CARRIED.