Pay cut meetings ongoing
Meetings between the Invercargill City Council and a public service union about proposed staff pay cuts will continue today.
Representatives of the Public Service Association met with council on Monday and yesterday and will again meet today to discuss proposal pay changes.
Council chief executive Clare Hadley did not answer questions yesterday, however, confirmed negotiations were ongoing.
Hadley told staff in a newsletter last month those working fulltime during the Covid-19 pandemic would receive 100 per cent of their pay, those working parttime would get 75 per cent and those who could not work would receive 50 per cent of their wages.
The news was met with outrage from the association.
On Monday, Hadley said the council was committed to working in good faith ‘‘with our people’’.
‘‘No changes will be made until an agreement has been reached,’’ she said.
Association national secretary Glenn Barclay said the council had agreed it could not change the employment terms and conditions of PSA members without agreement from the union.
The association has 57 members in council.
‘‘The council says it’s strong financial performance means it can expect an increased surplus, so we look forward to discussing how council staff and resources can be effectively utilised during lockdown without reducing services,’’ Barclay said.
‘‘Our members want to get back to work serving their community as soon as it is safe and practical to do so,’’ he said.
‘‘We are holding further talks with ICC tomorrow to discuss additional ways our members could potentially be put to work even while libraries and pools remain closed.’’ Barclay said the experience had been stressful and upsetting for council employees. ‘‘We can only represent those who belong to the PSA, so we strongly encourage any council worker concerned about their job security to contact our union and discuss how we can help.’’
The association had earlier said the wage cuts would have been illegal.
The Wages Protection Act prohibited unilateral deductions from wages and Hadley did not consult the PSA, Barclay said.
The staff affected by the 50 per cent pay cut were among the lowest paid in the organisation, he said.
Amalgamated Workers Union New Zealand has about 25 members working for the Invercargill City Council, mainly in waste water, water control and parks and garden.
AWUNZ Southern region secretary Calvin Fisher said most of those were working fulltime hours and would have been unaffected.
Council workers typically had job security which made up for lower wages, he said.