Rates rise warning if waste service is sold
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday March 16, 2010
THE state government has been warned that selling its waste services arm, which it hopes will raise more than $250 million, will push up council rates.Unions are also concerned about the impact on jobs of the sale of WSN Environmental Solutions."It's going to be painful - adding more costs to ratepayers and putting more pressure on councils, which are already being squeezed with rate pegging," said the vice-president of the Local Government and Shires Association, Allan Ezzy."It will cost more, with less control" over charges and activities. WSN "is in government hands at the moment - and it should stay there. It shouldn't go to private enterprise. Once you get a monopoly, it becomes hard to deal with."There will be no scrutiny at all - it's a bit like once Sydney Airport was handed over to private enterprise."The sale would provide a windfall for the government, but cost increases would be passed on to councils, said the secretary of the United Services Union, Ben Kruse."Previously, private companies predominantly collected waste and are now increasingly operating transfer stations for waste as well as tips," he said."By being able to operate transfer stations, this will position private operators to maximise their margins, giving them greater power when bidding for additional waste collection contracts, allowing increased vertical integration."The Public Service Association and the Transport Workers Union want talks with the government about protection for their members, who will be affected directly by the sale.A spokesman for the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, said employees to be transferred to the new owner would receive a transfer payment of up to 30 weeks, along with guaranteed superannuation entitlements and a three-year employment guarantee, or they would be able to continue working in the public sector.However, most workers at NSW Lotteries, bought last week by Tatts Group for $850 million, are expected to be made redundant, the company's managing director and chief executive, Dick McIlwain, said at the weekend, reinforcing union concerns about job security after any WSN sale."What do you do with a truck worker that doesn't want to go across [to the private sector]? If you're in administration, or data entry, you get soaked up pretty easily in the public service," he said. "Therefore they need a [voluntary] redundancy program," said Wayne Forno, the NSW secretary of the TWU."I've called for a meeting with the Treasurer and Treasury officials."The general secretary of the Public Service Association, John Cahill, said his union wanted talks with the government to ensure members' entitlements would be protected."We'll be looking for 30 weeks [transfer payment] plus a voluntary redundancy program plus protection of their pension entitlements, especially for those on a defined benefits plan," he said.WSN has eight solid waste transfer stations, four landfills open, five which are closed, four garden waste processing centres, and four materials recycling facilities. It also has a garden wholesaling business and an alternative waste processing plant at Eastern Creek and at Jacks Gully, near Narellan.The government proposes retaining control of part of the landfill at Lucas Heights, along with Belrose and Eastern Creek landfills. A new body, Waste Assets Management Corporation, would manage the assets.LOCAL GOVERNMENT €” Page 14
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