By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
ANGRY Barwon Water outdoors staff have gathered outside the organisation’s Ryrie St offices to protest the outsourcing of their jobs.
Australian Services Union (ASU) organiser Luke Cherry said Barwon Water’s decision to award a four-and-a-half-year contract to Programmed Facility Maintenance affected about 60 workers.
He described the decision as “privatisation by stealth”.
Mr Cherry said Barwon Water would save $380,000 a year, or $1.29 a customer, over the contract period.
The decision was another blow to job security in the region, leaving staff uncertain about their futures and and feeling “undervalued, ignored and angry”.
“This is a huge blow for workers. For months Barwon Water has been telling us that information about this process is confidential and that no decision has been made regarding outsourcing.
“This has left ASU members feeling disheartened and angry about the way they’ve been treated by a company where many have worked for most of their working lives,” Mr Cherry said.
“Recently we’ve seen a lot of private companies reducing their Geelong-based workforce and pulling out of the area.
“Corporations like Barwon Water should be rock-solid during times like these, providing support to the community while offering a sanctuary of job security and model conditions.”
“However, we remain sceptical about the outcome and intentions of this process.
“Not once did management consult existing staff to try finding a way to achieve those savings without people losing their jobs, which shows they never had any intention of keeping these roles in-house,” Mr Cherry said.
“We expect this change to have an impact on the services provided to Barwon Water customers in the Geelong region.
“This essential service will now be run by a for-profit corporation instead of remaining in the public service sphere where it belongs, in the interests of customers as well as the workforce.”
Barwon Water managing director Joe Adamski said the change would deliver long-term cost savings through “progressive efficiency improvements”.
Mr Adamski said the decision would save a “conservative” $1.7 million to 2018 but the saving was “likely” to be $700,000 a year compared to retaining the services in-house.
A key factor in the board’s decision was Programmed’s commitment to take on “almost all” existing employees, minimising job losses and retaining skills and experience, he said.
