Pharmaceutical company collapse hits workers

Over 70 workers employed by Melbourne based pharmaceutical company Pharm 
Action are $4 million out of pocket after the sudden collapse of their 
employer.

Workers were sent home from the Laverton site following the appointment of 
Sim Partners as administrators to the failed business.

Pharm Action joins an ever-growing list of Australian companies that have 
gone bust leaving their employees without their accrued entitlements.

"This is another classic case of arriving after the fact", said Dave Oliver 
from the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU). "We believe that 
prevention is better than the cure. This company has a fatal disease."

"It's a pity we couldn't get some agreement to protect entitlements, either 
through a bank guarantee or paying into NEST."

NEST is an independent not-for-profit trust facility established to secure 
employee entitlements such as annual leave, long service leave, redundancy 
and severance pay.

Pharm Action employees, who are members of the AMWU and the National Union 
of Workers (NUW) now face an uncertain future with lost entitlements 
including over $3 million in leave and redundancy and almost $1 million of 
unpaid superannuation contributions.

The AMWU is speaking to the administrator in an effort to rescue the jobs 
through the sale of the company, but there is no obvious prospective buyer 
at this stage.

"The taxpayer will be expected to pick up the tab for the employees' basic 
entitlements while the employer will walk off Scot free," said Dave Oliver.

Pharm Action was a part of the Cottees Health group, which has now entered 
into voluntary administration owing $10 million.