On August 30, footwear workers formerly employed by Michaelis Bayley Holdings Pty Ltd — maker of the Homy Ped shoe brand — staged a protest outside the company's Footscray offices. According to Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFUA) secretary Michele O'Neil, the company has sought to avoid redundancy provisions contained in the enterprise bargaining agreement it had committed to honour two years ago.
O'Neil said that when the company moved its production site from Footscray to Preston in late 2005, "the workers moved on the condition that their EBA with enhanced redundancy entitlements were transferred with them". Late last year, the company moved its production "offshore and sacked its work force", O'Neil added.
O'Neil told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly that through its lawyers, the holding company has threatened to place its footwear subsidiary into receivership unless the workers accept the company's "take it or leave it" offer of approximately $2600 for each worker. This is only the minimum amount of redundancy payments as stipulated under the workers' award.
"The workers are owed up to $19,000 each, not including interest; and many of the sacked workers were loyal employees for more than 20 years", O'Neil said.
In a media release, O'Neil argued Michaelis Bayley Holdings was deliberately exploiting the Work Choices and Corporations laws to restructure its footwear subsidiary Michaelis Bayley Footwear and strip its assets in order to avoid meeting its EBA commitments.
"The government's Work Choices and Corporations laws provide no genuine protection for these workers. The Howard government has to step in to ensure these low-paid workers receive their full entitlements. Companies like the Michaelis Bayley group should not be allowed to create a maze of empty corporate structures to deliberately avoid paying workers their redundancies", O'Neil said.
Nineteen workers are awaiting a hearing on September 17-18 in the Melbourne Magistrates Court (Industrial Division) claiming a total of $260,000 in entitlements including redundancy payments.