By Tanya Steele
Melbourne Zoos are taking strike action this April with limitations on some of the usual zoo experiences as staff fight for better pay conditions.
All three zoos in Victoria, including Healesville Sanctuary, will be experiencing hiccups these school holidays as staff members from the United Workers Union take a variety of industrial strike actions from Friday 7 April until Sunday 23 April.
A Healesville Sanctuary spokesperson said the zoo will continue to be open and operational.
“We respect our employees’ right to take this action and we value all of our employees.
Some zoo experiences will be cancelled as a result of reduced capacity and we expect this action to continue until the end of April, however our zoos will be open as usual and be welcoming visitors throughout the school holidays.
We are still in good faith negotiations with unions on this issue but, while the action is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
The United Workers Union (UWU) members will be participating in a number of actions that include:
Wearing a union shirt instead of a uniform
A ban on keeper talks
A ban on animal ‘encounters’.
A ban on animal presentations.
A ban on feeding of animals in display areas, except for safety or animal welfare purposes.
A ban on emptying bins and picking up litter, apart from in the instances of public safety or animal welfare.
The strike action commenced due to a dispute over worker wages.
UWU executive director Godfrey Moase said workers at Zoos Victoria say the Government’s revised wages offer of three per cent was insubstantial.
“While the union welcomes the Government’s move away from the insulting original 1.5 percent offer, three percent still doesn’t cut it and it will see wages at the zoo and across the public sector go backwards once again,” he said.
Mr Mosae said the union has called for a removal of a wages cap and a return to bargaining with the workers who keep the zoos and the State progressing.
“While we understand there isn’t a bottomless money pit for the Government to dip into, it’s really unfair that workers at the zoo and in every workplace in Australia are continuing to bear the brunt of economic decisions made by those who don’t need to worry about their next mortgage repayment or rent increase,” he said.
