Toyota workers strike for delegate's job

MELBOURNE — Maintenance workers at Toyota went on strike for three days after an Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) delegate was stood down by management on August 29.

When Toyota relocated its Port Melbourne production facility to Altona, the workers were offered redeployment at the same level or redundancy. Of all the workers who took redeployment, only Tony Brooks, the AMWU delegate, was offered a lower-skilled job. When he refused it he was sacked.

The other delegates identified a number of deployment options for Brooks, but management refused to budge, so the work force walked out. The workers' picket line turned trucks away and reduced Toyota's production. The company initially threatened legal action against the picketers, but on September 21 decided instead to offer Brooks a trade position.

Stuart Martin

From GLW issue 685