Court rebuffs Tristar

On June 19, a Federal Court judge refused to throw out a case aimed at obtaining millions of dollars worth of severance pay for workers employed by car parts manufacturer Tristar Suspension and Steering Pty Ltd.

The company had asked the court to strike out the statement of claim lodged by the federal government's Office of Workplace Services, which is prosecuting Tristar for having made the workers redundant within the meaning of Tristar's 2003 certified agreement.

The workers claim the company is paying them to turn up to work and do nothing until the expiry of a redundancy agreement early next year that promises them four weeks' pay for each year of service.

The full case will begin to be heard on July 16.

From GLW issue 714