City under siege over its sandwich sackings

Alex de Vos
Hundreds of protesters have stormed a council meeting in Geelong to support two workers sacked for accepting a free steak sandwich each.
City Hall gave marching orders to Mick Van Beek and Peter Anderson after they filled two potholes at Leopold Sportsman’s Club in November without orders from superiors.
The men acted on the request of a club manager who was worried the potholes were a safety threat to elderly patrons.
The manager gave the pair steak sandwiches as a reward for their quick action.
However, the workers’ acceptance of the sandwiches led to accusations at City Hall of theft, fraud and dishonesty.
Colleagues, union leaders and community figures rallied behind the men at a council meeting on Tuesday night.
Australian Services Union Geelong organiser Barry Miller asked councillors whether they believed the sackings were a “fair and just” penalty for “accepting a sandwich in exchange for being a good Samaritan”.
“How would you feel to be branded a thief?” Mr Miller said.
“It is not fair.”
But Mayor John Mitchell refused to speak about the workers in front of the packed public gallery. “According to the Local Government Act, (councillors) have no authority to intervene or have any input in staff matters,” Cr Mitchell said.
“Unfortunately, there will be no debate tonight on this matter.”
The gallery responded to Cr Mitchell with a series of boos and jeers while accusing councillors of hiding behind the Local Government Act.
Geelong Trades Hall secretary Tim Gooden said the sackings were outrageous.
He accused council of double standards after it allowed a former City Hall manager to keep using his council-owned car and fuel card for two months between his resignation and re-appointment.
“Does the mayor consider this value to be worth more than a couple of steak sandwiches?” Mr Gooden asked.
On Wednesday Mr Van Beek told the Independent he was still “extremely upset” about losing his job.
However, he was confident he and Mr Anderson would win their jobs back.
“We’ve got a lot of support from our family and friends and lot of the unionists are on our side,” he said.
“We don’t hold any grudges – we just want our jobs back.”
Mr Anderson likened the sackings to a “witch hunt”
“I’m really furious,” he said.
“I’ve had 20 years of experience and never even had a verbal warning.
“If they don’t reinstate us, they’ll end up with egg on their faces.”