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Published on 04 May 2026
Hume City Council is currently involved in negotiations for a new Multi-Employer Enterprise Agreement (MEA), alongside seven other councils including Dandenong, Darebin, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Merri-bek and Yarra, as well as four unions representing employees.
The eight Councils represent over 10,000 employees and service a population of over 1.2 million people.
Hume City Council staff voted in favour of participating in the MEA, in September 2025.
The Fair Work Commission officially authorised the multi-employer bargaining process with the eight councils and the four unions on 22 December 2025. This means that the councils and unions could start the process of multi-employer bargaining from this date – not before.
This is the first time a MEA for metropolitan Councils has been negotiated and it is expected this will take some time due to the number of parties to the process.
Formal meetings commenced in March 2026 and have been held regularly since between the eight council and the four unions ie: the Australian Services Union, the ANMF, the AEU and Professional Australia.
2. Why is there industrial action happening?
The Fair Work Commission granted permission for the Australian Services Union (ASU) to hold a ballot of ASU members only, to ask if they support taking protected industrial action (PIA) in (date). A majority of ASU members voted in favour of protected industrial action at each of the eight councils.
As a result of the ballot outcome and approval by the Fair Work Commission, ASU members are able to take protected industrial action. The ASU is required to provide at least 120 hours’ notice in writing to Council of any specific protected industrial actions its members intend to take. This notice will need to specify the nature of the protected industrial action, and the day on which that action will start.
This can include things like work stoppages or partial work bans. Not all industrial action happens at the same time or in the same way, so impacts can vary. This action has happened very early in the negotiating process.
3. What is happening on Tuesday 5 May 2026?
The Australian Services Union (ASU) has notified Council of a planned 24-hour protected work stoppage on Tuesday 5 May (State Budget Day).
As participation is optional, we won’t know the full extent of disruption until the day. Based on current information:
Waste collections may be impacted for residents who put their bin out to be collected on a Tuesday. Residents are encouraged to still put your bin out. If it is missed, leave it out and we will collect it on Saturday 9 May as part of a catch-up collection.
All library programs scheduled for Tuesday have been cancelled including Baby Bounce at Broadmeadows, and Rhyme Time and Storytime at Broadmeadows and Craigieburn. We expect our facilities to be open, but encourage you to check our website before visiting.
Other Council services may experience disruptions, depending on participation levels.
We will continue to provide updates to the community throughout the day via our website and social media channels as required.
4. How does this affect Council services?
Industrial action can affect Council services depending on the type of action being taken and how many employees choose to participate. This means some services may continue as normal, while others may be reduced, delayed or temporarily unavailable. If it involves work stoppages, we will not know the full extent of any disruption until the day the action takes place.
It’s regrettable that the ASU’s industrial action has affected the Hume community’s waste services with many missed bin collections over the past few weeks causing much disruption for our residents.
5. What should I do if my service is affected?
If your service is affected, please follow the instructions provided by Council. For example, you may be asked to leave your bin out for collection or check back for updates on rescheduled services. Our customer service team is also available to assist if you need further support.
6. How will I know if services are impacted?
We will share updates through Council’s website, social media channels, and customer service centres. Where available, we may also use SMS or email to notify affected residents. For the most up-to-date information, we recommend checking these channels during periods of industrial action.
7. What is happening with waste services?
The ASU has withdrawn many of the industrial actions that had been impacting waste services allowing collections to resume to normal. This is a welcome reprieve for our community who has been significantly affected by the ASU’s industrial action.
However, the 24-hour work stoppage on Tuesday 5 May is likely to affect residents whose bin is collected on a Tuesday. Residents are encouraged to still put your garbage bin out for collection. If it is missed, please leave it out and we will collect it in our catch-up collection on Saturday 9 May.
8. What is Council doing about the impacts of the industrial action?
Council is continuing to negotiate in good faith with unions as part of the MEA process while also preparing for potential service disruptions. We are working across all service areas to ensure business continuity processes are in place and that teams are ready to respond based on their local operational needs. Council has an obligation to meet the needs of the community, so external contractors were engaged on two weekends to catch up on missed bins.
We are keeping the community informed through our website, social media and customer service channels, including providing clear instructions on where services are impacted.
9. What is Council’s position about the MEA?
All Councils continue to negotiate with the unions in good faith to achieve a multi-employer enterprise agreement benefitting employees, councils and communities across the eight municipalities.
Local government plays an important role in balancing fair pay for employees, keeping rates affordable, and maintaining reliable services for our community.
The ASU has put forward a claim of 10% in the first year, and around 24% over the life of the new Multi-Employer Agreement. While we support fair pay and reasonable pay outcomes for employees, increases of this scale would place significant pressure on Council budgets.
Under the State Government’s rate capping system, councils have limited ability to increase revenue. This means cost increases of this size would need to be absorbed by service changes or additional pressure on ratepayers.
This industrial action is happening very early in the bargaining process, which makes the level of disruption even more challenging.
Council respects the right of employees to take lawful industrial action and is committed to continuing negotiations in good faith. We are focused on maintaining essential services where possible and minimising disruption to the community.
We also acknowledge that service disruptions, especially to bin collections, are frustrating and appreciate the community’s patience during this time.
10. Do all staff participate in industrial action?
No, participation in industrial action is voluntary and limited to eligible ASU union members only. Some members may choose to participate, while others may continue working as normal. This is one of the reasons why the level of service disruption can vary.
11. Will staff be paid if they participate?
Employees, who are ASU union members, and who participate in a work stoppage are not legally able to accept payment for the period of the work stoppage, neither is Council legally able to pay a salary for the period of the work stoppage.
12. What is protected industrial action?
Industrial action can take several forms. For Council employees, this can include going on strike (refusing to attend or perform work) or imposing work bans (refusing to perform part of their normal duties) or doing things to promote a campaign (such as sticking up posters or wearing t-shirts).
Under the Fair Work Act (FW Act), industrial action for employees is defined as:
employees performing work in a manner different to how it is normally performed
employees adopting a work practice that restricts, limits or delays the performance of work
a ban, limitation or restriction by employees on performing, accepting or offering to work
employees failing or refusing to attend for work or perform any work.
13. What industrial action is still happening?
The ASU has advised that they have withdrawn many of their protected industrial action items apart from items such as wearing campaign clothing, using campaign backgrounds for online meetings and in emails. This means that garbage bin and public litter bins will be collected, library books will be processed and mowing will return to normal schedules.
14. Where can I get more information?
The latest information about industrial action and any service impacts will always be available on Council’s website: www.hume.vic.gov.au and social media channels.