Chris Slee, Melbourne
Support from other workers for the picket set up by workers sacked from the ABM Plastics factory in the Melbourne suburb of Braeside has been "outstanding", Jamie Bellerby, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) organiser for the factory, told Green Left Weekly.
"On November 25 last year we received a phone call telling us that ABM had been put in administration", Bellerby said. The administrator met with the workers and told them he would try to sell the company as a going concern. However a potential deal fell through. Instead, the plant and equipment were sold to AMCOR Plastics.
The administrator initially told the workers they would get 20 cents in the dollar on their redundancy pay. The workers rejected this and set up a picket line on January 21.
On February 3 they were told they would get no redundancy pay, but statutory entitlements only.
"This was unanimously rejected by the members", Bellerby said. All decisions were taken at joint meetings of members of the AMWU and the National Union of Workers (NUW).
The receiver then sacked the workers on February 8, in the presence of 25 police.
The workers were not intimidated, and maintained the picket line. "On February 17 we were taken to the Federal Court. The AMWU, NUW and about 40 workers were injuncted off the picket line", Bellerby said.
After this, the workers' families and friends took over the picket. Workers from nearby factories take up collections on the job and regularly visit the picket line.
The ABM Plastics workers themslves, though banned from the picket line, continued to protest in other ways. They held barbeques outside the Brighton mansion of the factory's owner, Abe Waisman, on five occasions. They also protested at the office of GE Finance, Waisman's major creditor, asking them to put some money towards the workers entitlements.
Bellerby said he did not believe Waisman was unable to pay, pointing to his Brighton mansion and other real estate holdings, his luxury cars, and his involvement with numerous other companies. "He is protected by corporate law", Bellerby said, adding that Prime Minister John Howard had promised to change the law so that workers would have priority over other creditors when companies go into liquidation, but this has not been done.
The injunction was subsequently lifted and the ABM Plastics workers have returned to the picket line. But a new injunction cannot be ruled out.
The picket has prevented attempts by AMCOR to remove equipment from the factory.
The picket line is situated at 56-62 Tarnard Drive, Braeside. Those wishing to register for the picket roster should phone 0421 329 881.
From Green Left Weekly, April 6, 2005.
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