UNIONISTS AGAINST CORPORATE TYRANNY(UACT)
Below is an article about a strike at Selleys in Padstow. They have been out
for a week already and will be out at least until Monday. It would be good
to send messages of support or visit if you are in the vicinity.
Melanie Sjoberg UACT
Selleys workers 'sticking to the union'
By Shane Bentley
SYDNEY - Over 130 members of the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and
Miscellanous Workers Union (LHMU) employed at the Selleys plant in Padstow
voted to go on a seven day strike on August 9.
Negotiations with the Australian-owned company Selleys (the makers of
SuperGlue, Araldite and Polyfilla) broke down when it refused a claim for a
six percent wage increase over eighteen months.
Green Left Weekly spoke to Merv Allen and Bob Askew, LHMU delegate and
co-delegate at the Selleys plant.
"Selleys' earlier offer was only 1.5 percent. Their latest offer is now 4
percent over two years, but it comes with a number of strings attached.
Management has a list of nearly forty demands, the worst being that they
want the right to up the ratings - the speed a product is produced and the
amount made - on any product whenever they want", explained Allen.
"Instead of paying us weekly, they want to pay us fortnightly and give us a
one-off payment of $200 for the inconvenience. Selleys have also offered two
bonuses of $350 that are subject to production targets. But to even come
close to meeting these targets we would have to keep working flat out
forever and a day".
Allen added, "Martin Ward, the new General Manager is trying to show us who
is the boss. Selleys has been planning this for quite a while - a lot of
stock was moved out of the warehouse in the few weeks leading up to the
strike".
"Since the strike began, no deliveries have gone in or out and management
has not tried to get any scabs in to replace us".
Askew added, "we think that this might be part of a plan by Selleys to get
rid of union representation at the plant. Over the last couple of years they
have been running the machinery down and not investing in any new equipment.
A similar thing happened to another company just up the road - they forced
the workers to squeeze as much as they could out of the old machinery, then
closed the factory".
Allen and Askew explained how management "told us eighteen months ago that
our jobs were on the line. The workers bent over backwards to meet
management targets. Productivity improved by 20 to 30 percent. The company
has even won environmental awards for its waste reduction".
"Previous EBA's have had four and five percent increases over twelve months
with productivity trade-offs that the workforce agreed to. We have been
bargaining in good faith with Selleys for the last six months, but to no
avail".
Askew added, "we've never taken this sort of action here for as long as I
can remember. I don't think there has ever been a strike here. But it shows
you how determined we are to win this one".
Another worker who did not wish to be named told Green Left Weekly of the
hazardous nature of the work at Selleys. "You are breathing in white spirits
and other toxic chemicals, so it's no surprise that some of us suffer fume
inhalation from time to time. The work is rotated every two hours, but every
now and again you will still feel dizzy from the fumes. Management just
think that we are bludging".
At a mass meeting outside the Padstow plant on August 15 the membership
decided to stay out for another six days. Another mass meeting on August 21
will decide any further course of action.
Chanting "what do we want, six percent - when do we want it, now!" and "real
wages now!", picketers marched to the nearby BBC Hardware House to make it
known to BBC management and consumers just how workers were treated at
Selleys.
Supporters are encouraged to visit the picket line at the Selleys plant, 1
Gow Street, Padstow. LHMU contact email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
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