Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Workers denied redundancy entitlements under IR laws

Nine workers at a Mitcham curtain factory have been sacked and denied redundancy pay by their employer under the Howard Government’s IR laws.

The workers are owed up to $10 000 dollars each in redundancies and entitlements after working at Pele Curtains for between 10 and 21 years.

On Monday 25 June the workers were told to clear their lockers and immediately leave the premises. Their employer gave them 15 minutes notice that they were being sacked and cited ‘operational reasons’ in their termination letters.

Under the Howard Government’s IR laws workers at a business with less than 100 employees are denied the right to make an unfair dismissal claim. Workers are also banned from lodging unfair dismissal claims if the employer cites ‘operational reasons’ for the sacking.

The workers’ union, the CFMEU Furniture Division,  will seek to recover the lost entitlements in the Industrial Relations Commission.

The so called ‘operational reasons’ loophole in WorkChoices allows employers to sack workers or lower their pay and conditions. It was cited in the high profile Cowra abattoir case where 29 people were sacked and then offered their jobs back with a 30% pay cut.

The laws were also used recently to sack 32 Priceline workers. Their employer readvertised their jobs at a 25% pay cut.

Howard’s WorkChoices hurts working people and their families for the sake of profit. They must be overturned to secure the future of Australian working families. 

The VTHC is calling for a concerted effort to throw out the Howard Government at the next Federal election. The above stories clearly illustrate the trade union movement is in a high-level campaign mode.


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