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4 March, 2007Workers at Australian Tristar factory fight potential loss of redundancy benefits, which could be lost due to new industrial relations laws.
AUSTRALIA: Tristar Steering and Suspension is attempting to use the new Australian industrial relations laws to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by keeping "redundant" workers on the payroll until the terms of the union agreement expire.
The workers and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union have been fighting a public campaign against the company, so far forcing it to payout John Bevan, who was with the company for 43 years and died of cancer in January, leaving three dependent children.
Tristar's remaining 35 workers, continue on the payroll despite having had no work since June 2006. The collective agreement, which included four weeks of pay per year of service for forced redundancies, was terminated in February. The company was waiting for the terms of this agreement to expire so it would only be required to pay 12 weeks of wages to the redundant workers.
After months of pressure, the Office of Workplace Services, the Howard government's workplace relations 'watchdog', began proceedings against Tristar in the Federal Court in February over its refusal to offer redundancies to 26 of the workers.