Selleys workers 'sticking to the union'
BY SHANE BENTLEY
SYDNEY — Workers at the Selleys plant in Padstow here have taken strong action against what they see as an attempt to break their union. The 130 members of the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union voted on August 15 to stay out an extra seven days, having begun their strike on August 9.
Negotiations with the Australian-owned company Selleys (the makers of Super Glue, Araldite and Polyfilla) broke down when it refused a claim for a 6% wage increase over 18 months.
"Selleys' latest offer is 4% over two years, but it comes with strings attached", union delegate Merv Allen told Green Left Weekly. "Management has a list of nearly 40 demands, the worst being that they want the right to increase the speed at which a product is produced and the amount made whenever they want".
"Martin Ward, the new general manager, is trying to show us who is the boss", he said. "Selleys has been planning this [dispute] for quite a while — a lot of stock was moved out of the warehouse in the few weeks leading up to the strike. Since the strike began, no deliveries have gone in or out and management has not tried to get any scabs in to replace us."
Allen's fellow delegate, Bob Askew, told Green Left Weekly, "We think that this might be part of a plan by Selleys to get rid of union representation at the plant. Over the last couple of years they have been running the machinery down and not investing in new equipment. A similar thing happened to another company just up the road — they forced the workers to squeeze as much as they could out of the old machinery, then closed the factory."
"Management told us 18 months ago that our jobs were on the line. The workers bent over backwards to meet management targets. Productivity improved by 20-30%. The company has even won environmental awards for its waste reduction", he said. "We have been bargaining in good faith with Selleys for the last six months, but to no avail".
"We've never taken this sort of action here for as long as I can remember", Askew pointed out. "I don't think there has ever been a strike here. But it shows you how determined we are to win this one."
Another worker, who did not wish to be named, told Green Left Weekly of the hazardous nature of the work at Selleys. "You breathe in white spirits and other toxic chemicals ... The work is rotated every two hours, but every now and again you will still feel dizzy from the fumes. Management just thinks that we are bludging."
A mass meeting outside the Padstow plant, which voted to stay out until August 21, concluded with a march to the nearby BBC Hardware House. Chanting, "What do we want? 6%! When do we want it? Now!" and "Real wages now!", the workers leafleted BBC management and customers about the dispute.
Picketers expected a breakthrough when union representatives were asked to attend a meeting with management on August 18. However, management cancelled the meeting only hours before it was due to begin.
Green Left Weekly readers are encouraged to visit the picket line at the Selleys plant, 1 Gow Street, Padstow (just off Canterbury Road).