Dorf workers fight redundancies

By Chris Spindler

MELBOURNE -- The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is organising a campaign to stop the redundancy of 300 workers at Dorf Industries, a tapware manufacturer. Mass meetings of AMWU members at Dorf have decided to campaign to keep the jobs rather than seek a redundancy deal.

Email, which owned Dorf, sold it to GWA International, which plans to phase out production at Dorf over 18 months and move it to NSW. GWA will control 85% of tapware, sink and bathroom products production.

Shop stewards at Email have unanimously decided to support the Dorf campaign, which will include both industrial action across the industry and political pressure on state politicians to stop the sell-off.

Metal workers and other trade unionists occupied the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on March 18, arguing that GWA's 85% control of the industry was not good for competition and should be halted.

Other recent jobs in metal manufacturing lost through company mergers include 200 at Locelock Luke, 250 at Australian Timkin in Ballarat, 140 at Electrolux, 250 at Hoover, 350 at Aurora Fibreglass and 85 at Kinnears.

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