The Guardian 25 July, 2007
Esselte workers stand strong
Fifteen workers employed at Esselte at Minto, in Sydney’s South Western suburbs, have been braving a picket line for five weeks. They are protesting at their employer’s attempts to force them onto individual contracts (AWAs). The 15 workers are members of the National Union of Workers (NUW) and have been struggling for more than two years now to be covered by a collective agreement.
Esselte is primarily a warehouse and distribution centre for stationery products, and part of a US transnational corporation — the second largest stationery manufacturer in the world after a series of corporate takeovers.
In June 2005, Esselte management introduced AWAs that workers refused to sign. In June 2006, the Office of Workplace Relations visited the Minto work site at the request of the Esselte management. The picture painted by the Office of Workplace Relations and the local management was workers were being intimidated by the NUW and the site delegate into not signing the AWAs.
Investigators from the Howard Government’s Office of Workplace Relations proceeded to interrogate a number of workers in an attempt to force them into agreeing the union was intimidating them. Of course, the investigators never took into account the reason for workers refusing to sign the AWAs, is they would be $40-$50 a week worse off in their pay packet.
"Investigation" = "Interrogation"
Warren Small, an Esselte worker told a solidarity meeting at the picket line last Wednesday, how the Office of Workplace Relations investigator took him away from the workplace and interrogated him for two days, how they tried to put words in his mouth, and when he refused to agree to their insinuations they would berate him. Warren who was visibly emotional and upset by his treatment likened it to mental torture and something you could expect from the Gestapo, not what he thought should happen in Australia in the 21st century.
David Rojas, the NUW site delegate at Esselte told how the workers have received no wage increase for years, how management had stalled negotiations continually, how the workers were not highly paid, the average worker at Esselte was earning $17.20 per hour. He told how workers have braved the worst of Sydney’s weather on the picket line. No storm, rain, chilling winds, freezing temperatures or abuse would stop the workers from fighting to win a collective agreement, as this dispute is not about money, it’s about fighting for our democratic rights, struggling for our right to belong to the union of our choice.
The struggle to defeat Esselte is not just the struggle of the 15 workers, but is part of the broader campaign to defeat AWAs, to fight for Your Rights at Work and to defeat the Howard Government and to restore the rights of ordinary working people and their trade unions, no matter who is in government.
Your support
The workers need your support and solidarity, moral support by visiting the picket line (details below) and for pressure to be applied on Esselte by boycotting their stationery products at the larger retail outlets such as Officeworks, K Mart, Woolworths and Big W. Leaflets are being produced asking customers to boycott these products and will be available soon.
Address: 8am — 4pm, Monday to Friday, 395 Pembroke Road, Minto.
Donations are welcome and needed for the Esselte Workers Distress Fund
c/ National Union of Workers 3 — 5 Bridge St, Granville 2124.