Tamworth Regional Council elections: Australian Workers' Union organiser Serge Rindo puts hand up for Labor Party council run

A former employee of the Tamworth starch and glucose factory, who later worked in construction and hospitality, and the first-generation descendent of Italian immigrants, has worked with his hands almost his entire life.

"My dad came from Italy, I think it was about 1958," he said.

"He worked on the Snowy Mountains scheme, then he worked on the steelworks for six months, then he went up to Mackay and cut sugar cane for five years, then he got into tobacco.

"We've been on the tobacco farm there ever since."

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Mr Rindo has organised the city's blue collar workers with the Australian Workers' Union for seven years.

Just this week he helped win Baiada employees a 21 per cent pay increase over four years.

He is running to be a councillor on Tamworth Regional Council as part of the Labor Party ticket, alongside Denise McHugh, Stephen Mears, Laura Hughes and Michael Lawler.

Representing ratepayers on council is just like representing union members, Mr Rindo said.

"When you're on council, you've got to be looking out for the community, not looking after the big end of town," he said.

"You've got to be looking after from the bottom to the top, right to the middle, you've got to look after everyone. Everyone's equal."

He said the two jobs are essentially the same one: working for fairness.

His major priorities as a councillor would include improving transparency at Tamworth Regional Council, mental health and suicide prevention among young people, and economic growth including new industry.

Asked to bring an item of significance, he chose a hard hat.

"It doesn't worry me to get my hands dirty. I don't expect anything from anybody else that I wouldn't do myself," he said.

"I'm probably not as flash as the other people [running for council], what you see is what you get. My heart's in the right spot for this position."

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