Townsville City Council Receives Minister’s Multicultural Award
Date published: 11 September 2018
Mayor Jenny Hill has congratulated the Council team that won a 2018 Queensland Multicultural Award.
Last month, the Queensland Government announced Townsville City Council’s Construction, Maintenance and Operations (CMO) team as the winner of the prestigious 2018 Minister’s Multicultural Award as part of Council’s efforts to support and promote the benefits of cultural diversity within the community.
Townsville City Council was nominated by a staff member and came after the CMO team implemented measures to positively support prayers during work hours and allowed employees to wear their religious garments over the top of PPE and within OH&S guidelines.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill – who met the winning team members at an awards breakfast on Thursday – said she is proud of the supportive work environment being created and maintained at Council and each team’s efforts to build a prosperous, fair and harmonious workplace and Townsville community.
“This is a great example of the positive culture being promoted at Council where we have a rich and diverse network which is worth supporting – one we will continue to develop and maintain,” Cr Hill said.
“This year we were notified that the Queensland Government received over 133 nominations, and I’m thrilled that a Townsville City Council team has been recognised with the Minister’s Multicultural Award in Brisbane.”
The Construction, Maintenance and Operations General Manager Michael Bissell said the nomination of the team was well deserved.
“We have a team of over 150 employees - all of which are harmonious and show respect at every opportunity. A large number of these employees have a non-English speaking background and the team are very proud and supportive of each other. This pride and support will only continue to grow into the future and we are very excited at what is to come,” Mr. Bissell said.
“Council offers a 20-week program for our multicultural trainees and during this program each employee are given on-the-job experience, formal training and have the opportunity to obtain a nationally recognised qualification.”
Infrastructure Committee Chair Cr Mark Molachino said an inclusive and skilled workforce is good for the Townsville community.
“The CMO team has done a great job with providing a prosperous work environment for its team and Council is proud to work alongside these people who aid in our efforts to create a supportive and productive team. The nomination of the award and now being recently announced as the winner of the Minister’s Multicultural award shows our efforts are recognised external to Council, too.”
Townsville City Council’s Construction, Maintenance and Operations team supports and promotes the benefits of cultural diversity within the community by supporting State Government Employment programs targeting the full participation of Queenslanders from culturally diverse backgrounds, in particular Work Skills Trainees, funded under the Skilling Queenslanders for Work Program.
