- The Guardian
- Issue #2206
Arts Centre Melbourne. Photo: gérard – flickr.com (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Arts Centre Melbourne workers have taken protected 24-hour stop work action as part of their ongoing campaign for fair pay, secure working conditions and proper government funding for the sector.
Members of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA), alongside colleagues from the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), ceased work on Friday 11 September, after enterprise bargaining negotiations failed to deliver an offer from management that addresses the significant decline in workers’ real wages.
The action was expected to affect programming and venue operations, including a Macy Gray concert.
MEAA Deputy Chief Executive, Adam Portelli, said workers had been left with no choice but to escalate their campaign.
“Workers are at a point where they simply can’t afford to accept another agreement that leaves them falling behind,” Portelli said.
“Arts Centre Melbourne’s success relies on its workforce. They deserve fair pay that reflects the value of the work they do.”
Almost 40 per cent of the workforce is employed on the current agreement’s lowest pay band, while workers’ wages have fallen significantly behind inflation in recent years. The current offer fails to address that gap and will leave workers worse off in real terms.
Portelli said the action was also a call for greater government investment in the arts.
“This is about protecting the future of a major cultural institution as much as it is about workers’ pay,” he said.
“Without proper funding, Arts Centre Melbourne cannot continue delivering the high-quality experiences Victorian audiences expect.”
MEAA is urging the Victorian government to invest in the workforce that keeps Arts Centre Melbourne operating, warning that staff cannot continue to shoulder the burden of chronic underfunding.
Workers say further protected industrial action remains on the table if negotiations continue to stall and a fair agreement is not achieved.
