A nine-day fortnight and 10 days of domestic violence leave are key aspects of a new enterprise agreement covering more than 1600 Newcastle City Council employees.
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The newly ratified agreement includes other flexible work arrangements such as unpaid leave, purchased additional annual leave, working four years out of five, and working from home.
The four-years-out-of-five option is available if staff work for four years at 80 per cent of their normal salary.
The agreement, the first the council has negotiated with unions in more than eight years, includes the annual 2.5 per cent minimum pay rise contained in the underpinning 2017 Local Government (State) Award.
United Services Union general secretary Graeme Kelly hailed the nine-day fortnight as a productivity booster for the council.
“They get more work done, workers’ compensation costs reduce because they’re not travelling to work on that 10th day,” he said.
“Sick leave and absenteeism reduce because people are getting that opportunity for that work-life balance every 10th day and get a long weekend.
“We’re all time poor. We all have family pressures.”
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He said many of Newcastle’s neighbouring councils, including Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Central Coast, had nine-day fortnights in their workplace agreements.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said flexible work hours were designed to increase productivity, though they would not be available in all areas of the organisation.
“It’s a response by senior management at council that want to genuinely create a workplace that incentivises productivity and outcomes and show our staff that they are valued,” she said.
“If they want to work longer days on some days … then we’ll work out a way to make that a reality.”
Paid domestic violence leave is a provision the USU has negotiated for more than half its 30,000 members in NSW.
The leave is designed to allow staff to attend legal proceedings, receive counselling, move house and care for children, and it can be taken without prior approval.
Council employee and union delegate Kevin Burgess said the leave would make it easier to help staff facing difficult circumstances.
“It lets people get away from the workplace where they’re trying to think about work and also think about their problems,” he said.
“We have people who come to us on a daily basis with their concerns.
“In reality, this just makes it a little bit easier for us to then get in contact with management and get the right thing happening for our people.”
Mr Kelly said councils were “industry leaders” in progressive conditions such as domestic violence leave, and the union would take a “dim view” of anyone abusing the system.
Cr Nelmes said the leave provision would match community expectations.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
