Engineers and managers at Coliban Water have voted overwhelmingly to take protected industrial action, after the employer repeatedly refused to offer a real pay rise – despite charging the highest water rates in Victoria and supplying the Premier's electorate of Bendigo East.
Professionals Australia members at Coliban Water, alongside members of the Australian Services Union (ASU), will begin a two-hour stop-work from 11 am on March 25th – the first step in a planned series of escalating actions.
An overwhelming majority of members at Coliban Water participated in the protected action ballot, voting decisively in favour of industrial action.
These are the professionals responsible for safe and reliable water supply to 180,000 people across the Bendigo and Castlemaine region. They are also delivering Coliban's $500 million, five-year capital works program to upgrade water and sewer infrastructure, including the Bendigo Water Reclamation Plant.
Despite carrying this responsibility, they are paid less than their counterparts at Melbourne water corporations.
Unions have been informed by affected workers that Coliban Water has also warned employees they may be stood down and have pay withheld for displaying campaign messages in email auto-replies or writing campaign messages in chalk on work vehicles, on the basis that such messages are not authorized use of company resources.
The following quotes are attributable to Professionals Australia Senior Organiser Bella Himmelreich:
"If Coliban Water is threatening to stand people down or withhold pay over campaign messages like an email auto-reply while taking part in an unpaid stoppage, that is disgraceful and anti-union behaviour – and not what you'd expect from a public employer under a state government."
"Our members have endured four consecutive years of just 2% annual pay increases while inflation has soared. In real terms, they've copped a pay cut of more than 10%.
"Customers in this region, including in the Premier's own electorate of Bendigo East, already pay the highest water prices in Victoria. Bills went up 4.5% last year alone. Yet the professionals keeping the water running and delivering half a billion dollars in infrastructure upgrades are still paid less than their counterparts in Melbourne.
"This vote sends a clear message: members have had enough. When 98% of your workforce turns out to vote for action, management cannot pretend the concerns aren't real.
"They deserve pay that reflects their qualifications, their responsibility, and the essential service they deliver to this community."
Professionals Australia has committed to ensuring that any action taken will prioritise public safety, while making members' message impossible to ignore.
The following quotes are attributable to Phillipa Balk, ASU Assistant Secretary for Victoria and Tasmania:
"It is a total betrayal to tell frontline workers there is no money for a fair pay rise while at least one senior executive is handed a pay jump of up to $79,000.
"Our members took a zero per cent increase in 2025 to support this organisation, and to see that money funneled into executive pockets, is an absolute insult to the families who do the actual work.
"Our members are the ones out working to ensure Bendigo families can have a hot shower in the morning. They have watched their real wages plummet by 13 per cent since 2021 while the complexity of their work only increases.
"We aren't asking for executive-style bonuses; we are asking for a modest 4.5 per cent increase, so our staff don't have to choose between putting fuel in the tank or food on the table.
"Coliban Water is sitting on over $20.1 million in cash reserves, yet management is refusing to move beyond a 3 per cent offer for the workforce. You cannot claim a financial crisis for the workers while simultaneously maintaining a massive cash surplus and rewarding those at the top."
