The Guardian 28 November, 2007
Tristar workers get redundancy pay
After a campaign lasting more than 18 months, the last of the Tristar workers has received their full redundancy entitlement. Three workers were made redundant on Tuesday and the last manufacturing worker will leave the company on November 30.
Only two accounting staff are left and they are now working at the company’s Caringbah branch in Sydney.
Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) NSW Secretary Paul Bastian said that the workers were overjoyed that they would receive their full entitlements after such a long hard battle.
The dispute arose early in 2006 when Tristar attempted to use WorkChoices to escape its obligation to pay its workers redundancy pay at the rate accrued under their collective agreement.
The company ceased operations, but did not make its longest serving employees redundant. Using a strategy based on new technicalities in WorkChoices, the company kept the workers "employed" doing nothing, waiting for WorkChoices to take effect.
"Under WorkChoices the company could simply refuse to negotiate a new agreement and revert back to the award — which enabled them to pay the long serving employees much less money", said Mr Bastian.
The union then swung into action, running a campaign which received national and international media attention. One delegate, Marty Peek, was sacked for speaking to the media.
As public sympathy for the Tristar workers grew, the Howard Government was forced to act. But Mr Bastian says they can take no credit for the resolution of the dispute.
"The Howard Government’s IR laws caused this situation. The laws do nothing to protect workers from an employer who refuses to negotiate with them. We have had so many disputes where this has happened — Cochlear is another one we are presently trying to resolve.
"The Tri Star situation could occur again because the laws enable it to happen.
"It is an indictment of the Federal Government’s industrial relations system that disputes like this cannot be resolved without the intervention of the State Government and attention of the national media, as has happened at Tristar.
AMWU organiser Martin Schutz said the toll taken on the health of the workers and their families can never be repaid.
"I shudder to think what happens to workers who don’t have unions, or the media’s attention," he said.