Mobil, Toyo take on unions
By Dave Mizon
MELBOURNE — At a mass meeting held at Williamstown Town Hall on February 5, members of the construction, electrical and metalworker unions were informed of the ongoing dispute at Mobil Altona's catalytic cracker site.
The dispute began last November, when Mobil and its engineering contractor, Toyo, dismissed the construction contractor John Holland and sacked the 400 workers on site, stating that these workers would not be re-employed when a new contractor is chosen.
The unions are demanding that the original work force be re-employed and that a new site agreement be negotiated — usual practice following a change of contractor.
Mobil, however, is refusing to re-employ any of the sacked workers and is insisting on an inferior site agreement, a six-month dispute clause and that the unions involved publicly endorse the agreement and Mobil and Toyo.
In the meantime, Mobil has moved to make use of section 127 of the new federal industrial relations act which enables unions and individual union members to be fined up to $2000 a day until the dispute is resolved.
The mass meeting unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for the unions to fight for the jobs of sacked workers and to organise more mass meetings to build solidarity with this struggle.