Bega Valley agrees to return the on-call roster
- Details
- Published: Wednesday, 16 July 2025 16:52
In the April issue we reported on an argument with Bega Valley about the right to disconnect after the Council had decided to terminate a long-standing on-call roster of EHOs to deal with high impact environmental accidents. The Council took the view that the roster, guaranteeing the availability of EHOs, cost too much at $12,000, and they would be better off individually ringing people out of hours.
At a meeting in Bega on 10 June, it became obvious that the Council was also concerned about having insufficient suitably qualified EHOs - something relatively easily resolved by that day agreeing to provide training ASAP to have suitably qualified people to fill the roster. This seemed a relatively simple issue to resolve, so it no longer was an issue about the right to disconnect.
In a happy conclusion, the Council has agreed to reinstate the roster for a trial period of 12 months, after surprising themselves that there were potentially seven employees who could receive expedited training on-site to staff the roster. Well worth the trip.