Charles Sturt Library Staff Win on Back Pay Fight

The Charles Sturt Library staff win on back pay could flow on to other Councils.

Library staff at the Charles Sturt Council have had a win in the Industrial Relations Court which could have ramifications for staff in every other Council in South Australia.

The Court has ruled that library staff who are sick on a shift which attracts penalty rates, should have those rates reflected in their sick day pay.

SA Branch Secretary Katrine Hildyard says that the Charles Sturt Council had paid the penalties on sick days for ten years but just last year stopped paying that benefit to sick staff.

"For years, the Council honoured the agreement that paid library workers who normally do out of hours work - weekends and so on - the same rates when they were sick as when they were at work."

"When they suddenly stopped paying - claiming they had been paying the higher penalty rates "in error" - we went to the Industrial Relations Court to fight for our members."

"This victory for Charles Sturt library workers means that there are probably members employed by other Councils, whose sick leave is based on the relevant Award provision, who might also will be entitled to back pay."

"We will be investigating this with other Councils to make sure they have been doing the right thing by their staff and paying the full penalty rate for sick leave."

Ms Hildyard says the ASU will now be contacting library staff at Charles Sturt to tell them the good news and to help them work out if they are owed any backpay.I hope this is the end of the long legal battle, and staff get the pay they deserve when they are sick."

Last week, the ASU successfully defeated an appeal by the City of Charles Sturt in the Full Court of the South Australian Industrial Relations Court."

Lieschke & Weatherill Lawyers Partner Michael Ats argued the appeal, and said it was a unanimous decision.

"Four Judges have now heard this case - and every one of them has rejected the Council's arguments."