City of Greater Geelong council stand down staff

THE City of Greater Geelong Council recently stood down more than 500 staff members due to the financial hardships caused by the coronavirus.

The city’s chief executive officer Marvin Cutter said the decision aligned with those made in the higher tiers of government.

“In line with the direction of the federal and state governments, we have made the difficult decision to extend all service closures until further notice.

“Unfortunately, this means the 576 employees who have been stood down will remain stood down.”

Affected employees will be allowed to draw on their annual leave and long service leave entitlements, as well as having the option to take their leave at half pay.

They will also be paid their rostered hours for the 14 days directly following the closure.

Mr Cutter said the city was committed to helping staff members now without work.

“We are providing opportunities to employees who have unfortunately been impacted by these service closures to take on other roles to help the city deliver essential services for the community.

“For example, we have already redeployed employees to the delivery of Meals on Wheels, which keep our at-risk volunteers safe and continues an important and valued service to the community.”

He said he was disappointed the local government sector was not eligible for the JobKeeper subsidy announced by the federal government on March 30.

The city has also created an employee support hotline and online hub to provide information and resources to employees.

This week, state and federal Labor MPs from the Geelong region called on the city to reinstate the stood down workers. To read their open letter, see page 44.