Chris Slee and James Vassilopoulos, Melbourne
A dispute at Kemalex Plastics' Dandenong South site, now in its ninth week, has become a flashpoint in a wider fight between unions and the federal Coalition government. If the government's proposed industrial relations legislation is passed, many employers are likely to test out the favourable new environment.
The workers, currently on a pay rate of $12.60 an hour, are campaigning for a new enterprise agreement, including a pay increase and an improved redundancy clause. But the main issue in the dispute is the employer's attempt to turn the workers into "independent contractors". This would leave them with no access to unfair dismissal laws or redundancy pay, and no sick leave, annual leave, long-service leave or shift penalties. The company could then ask them to work any shift, any day, and sack them if they refused.
National Union of Workers organiser John Glover told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly that the factory's owner had refused to negotiate for the first few weeks, expecting the workers to give in quickly. But the workers stood firm and the NUW took Kemalex to the industrial relations commission, forcing the company to talk to the union.
Negotiations between Kemalex owner Richard Colebatch and the NUW have broken down. The union had agreed to compromise on working hours, and to accept a 26-week redundancy cap instead of 36-weeks. The company rejected these compromises, so negotiations have had to restart from scratch. A key sticking point is that the employers want no arbitration to be part of the dispute-settling procedure.
The Kemalex workers are among the lowest paid in the community, receiving as little as $380 net pay per week. The largely women workforce comes from many backgrounds, including Sri Lankan, Indian, Vietnamese, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian, Hungarian and Welsh.
Glover said that the workers had been receiving strong support from other unions and from workers in nearby factories. More than $1200 was raised at the June 11 National Trade Union Fightback Conference, and has been handed to the workers.
Those wishing to donate should send cheques payable to the NUW Distress Fund, 552 Victoria St, North Melbourne, Vic 3051. Supporters are welcome to visit the protest site at the corner of Greens Road and Tattersons Road, Dandenong South.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, June 29, 2005.
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