Maintenance and trades staff who work in the bowels of Parliament House to keep the huge building operating will enter a period of protected industrial action from Thursday in a move which could disrupt future sitting days.
Both Houses will be sitting for three weeks from February 26 and in the absence of maintenance staff in the building either as a result of a planned stoppage or rolling industrial action, any failures with equipment would need to be fixed by emergency "outside" contractors which are not always readily available, nor know the building's eccentricities.
The generous wages paid to part-time contractors compared with fulltime Parliament House staff, engaged by the Department of Parliamentary Services, is a fierce point of contention.
Organiser for the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, Michael Murray, said between 15 to 20 of his members, together with others from the Electrical Trades Union and the CFMEU, will begin the action on Thursday but will not be telegraphing their forthcoming work stoppage intentions.
He said that his members had no option but to act collectively given "senior management's refusal to explore options during the bargaining process to rebuild the core capability of trade staff within Parliament House".
Employment conditions had been heavily eroded, he said, and the department had come to rely on "expensive contracts, [and] engaging labour hire to backfill positions left vacant through consecutive failed rounds of recruitment".
"There is a failure to pay staff competitive wages at the expense of our members' professional dignity," he said.
The maintenance staff, such as plumbers, heating and ventilation engineers, and fitters and turners who work under Parliament House have no natural light, and were described by Mr Murray as "the unseen, hands-on workers who keep the core functions of our democracy operating".
Public documents reveal there were 492 contracts worth $199.5 million paid out by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) last year, aside from all the other costs of running the building.
"The DPS has become reliant on paying premiums for expensive contractors, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money annually," Mr Murray said.
"Contractor staff, who are paid competitive industry rates, work alongside trade-qualified permanent staff who are compensated as little as APS level 3 equivalent."
The union is seeking management to "prioritise competitive rates of pay and engage labour hire contractors only when necessary".
"The core maintenance capability work within DPS should serve as an opportunity to upskill, enhance job satisfaction, and leverage existing knowledge within DPS maintenance departments," Mr Murray said.
