Andrew Mathieson
Huyck.Wagner will begin sacking staff at the company’s Geelong factory just two days before Christmas, according to their union.
The bleak Christmas will affect 20 unlucky households after the manufacturer announced last week it would close the Breakwater factory.
A worker discovered the plan to put the factory’s 150 staff out of work on the parent company’s American website before the announcement.
Textiles Clothing and Footwear Union national and state secretary Michele O’Neil said the remaining jobs would be wound up progressively over the next three months.
The parent company, Xerium Technologies, intends to keep the Geelong site open for sales and administration.
Ms O’Neil revealed Huyck could still sack the workers under the former Howard Government’s WorkChoices system more than a year after the election of the Rudd Government.
“The new government put in some improved laws to parliament in the last fortnight but they haven’t gone through the Senate yet and it won’t change until next year,” she said.
“This company has taken advantage of having no obligations under the current WorkChoices law to bargain in good faith.
“You have seen these workers pay a price at the worst time.”
The union dragged Huyck.Wagner into the Australian Industrial Relations Commission this week for the second time in a fortnight in an attempt to save some of the 150 jobs.
Ms O’Neil said the union was also pursuing a safeguard to legally enforce the company to guarantee workers’ full entitlements.
She attacked a lack of consultation between the company and governments before last week’s announcement.
“I think that’s disgraceful that the company and the governments a week after the announcement haven’t found a way to find the key people sitting in a room to save these jobs,” she said.
State Government had planned last year to invest $7.5 million into Huyck Australia to create more full-time jobs and ensure the company’s future in Geelong.
Ms O’Neil believed that government later cancelled the cash transfer because the company had failed to meet its requirements.
“I’m aware the company did apply for the money and it was initially granted,” she said
“But we were concerned at the time that the State Government made the announcement without any discussion with our union about how genuine the company’s commitments were.”
The Independent was unable to gain comment from Huyck.Wagner yesterday.