Arabic version: العاملون في احتجاز الأحداث بكوينزلاند يتوصلون إلى اتفاق بشأن الأجور

According to ABC News, youth detention workers have reached an in-principle pay agreement with the Queensland government after months of negotiations and industrial action. The Australian Workers’ Union said its members had accepted the government’s latest offer in principle on Wednesday night.

Negotiations began in early March, with the union seeking improved conditions after hundreds of reported assaults on detention-centre employees over the past year. Workers at centres across Queensland took strike action in June, August and September, citing overcrowding and understaffing concerns.

The proposed agreement includes early progression for new starters, a $3,000 retention bonus after five years of service and $6,000 after 10 years. AWU Queensland secretary Stacey Schinnerl said the offer also included pay rises and a review of senior positions.

Ms Schinnerl said the offer had been hard-fought through protected industrial action, including strikes and workplace bans. She said it would go “some way” towards improving employee retention, while maintaining the union’s focus on workplace safety and occupational violence.

The department confirmed that an in-principle agreement had been reached. The deal must still be put to a vote of the workforce, the AWU said.