Dayson workers on strike 13 weeks and still determined

by Tony Oldfield

Dayson workers are now into their 13th week on the picket line, and are 
demanding their employer — the US multi-national Trane — recognise their 
unions and negotiate a collective agreement. The workers build 
aircompressors at the Dayson plant in western Sydney.

They are members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and 
the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) which they joined more than 12 months 
ago. Since then they have been attempting to get management to negotiate a 
collective agreement.

Management refused to negotiate with the unions and insisted that the 
workers sign individual contracts. The workers were forced out on strike 
after management sacked seven of them, including the two union delegates. 
Later management paid out the sacked workers' redundancy.

Management wrongly thought the sackings would break the will of the workers 
into signing individual contracts.

The longer the dispute, the more determined Dayson workers have become. 
They will accept nothing less than a collective agreement.

In a recent attempt to intimidate the new union delegate, the company sent 
him a letter, threatening him with the sack and accusing him and the other 
picketers of using harassment and violence against other company staff.

Dayson attempted to take out a section 166A [of the Workplace Relations 
Act] certificate, so that they could then sue the individual picketers and 
union organisers for damages (lost profits) in the Federal Court.

The action was mostly unsuccessful. When the Industrial Commissioner viewed 
the company's evidence — video footage and individual statements — he 
came to conclusion and commented that the dispute between management and 
the workers was based on the company's ideological opposition to unions.

The Commissioner recommended that the company negotiate with the unions.

There has been no move to date by Dayson management to negotiate with the 
unions.

The unions are waiting to see if Trane/Dayson proceed to sue them in the 
Federal Court, if not they plan to counter sue Trane for making vexatious 
allegations.

The dispute is impacting on Dayson's compressor business. Picketers report 
that that at the beginning of the dispute they had customers arriving every 
15 minutes at the picket line to pick up jobs. That has fallen to one 
customer every three days.

There is a national campaign, with all the states involved and workers are 
on the alert for Dayson Compressors being used on different work sites.

They have been leafleting Dayson's major customers such as Westfield 
Shopping Centres and Mac Donald's food outlets. Posters are being 
distributed in areas where the Dayson/Trane management live.

They have also been speaking at delegates and work site meetings around 
Australia.

Support is needed for the Dayson struggle, at a time when the Federal 
Governments minister for Industrial Relations, Tony Abbott is trumpeting 
the bosses' cause — that workers should have the freedom to be super 
exploited. We need to be supporting the rights of those workers like the 
Dayson — Trane workers who are prepared to fight for the democratic right 
and be represented by a union.

You can support financially by contributing to the Dayson Fighting Fund: 

CBA Ermington,
Account No: 0621 6710 125505.

Protest directly to Dayson/Trane Management

Phone: (02) 9684 5022
Fax: (02) 9684 5032
Email: trane-australia@trane.com
Tony Proglio (Manager) 0418 402 650
Mark Dredge (Manager) 0418 483 388

Show your solidarity by joining the picket line at:

Dayson Air-conditioning Compressors, 30 South Street, Rydalmere
Monday to Friday 6 am — 5 pm

Community picket and BBQ every Tuesday from 6 am.