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2 May, 2002The dispute at the exhaust systems plant in Adelaide was resolved when company agreed to establish bank guarantee for entitlements.
AUSTRALIA: A 12-day strike in South Australia at Walkers Exhaust, a unit of the U.S. auto parts transnational Tenneco Automotive, came to an end on May 1 when workers overwhelmingly accepted a settlement reached between their union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, and the company.
The dispute, which saw Australia's car production come to a standstill, was resolved when Walkers agreed to establish a A$4 million (US$2.15 million) bank guarantee to protect all long service leave entitlements for workers at the company. Commenting on its victory, the AMWU said in a press statement that the outcome at Walkers was overall "a significant win for members" and that the union was "determined to continue its push to protect workers' entitlements," whether by bank guarantee or trust fund.
During the strike at the exhaust components plant, car production was halted at GM Holden, Ford and Toyota, with Mitsubishi still managing to build cars, but without exhausts.