By Casey Neill
Fletcher Insulation employees have returned to work in Dandenong following the longest AWU picket line in 20 years.
The 90 Australian Workers Union (AWU) members were on strike for 97 days before getting back to business at 7am on Thursday 25 May.
AWU Victorian secretary Ben Davis said union officials “formed an honour guard when they walked into show our respect for what they’ve done”.
“That is the longest picket line the AWU Victorian branch has had in 20 years.
“They are in really good spirits because they know that when you stick together and fight, you win and they have won.”
The around-the-clock picket line started at 7am on Friday 17 February following AWU negotiations with Fletcher since 15 August last year.
Mr Davis said they’d been offered an enterprise agreement (EA) that would slash conditions, raise serious safety concerns and offer no pay rises for the next four years.
“Production was up 20 per cent in the last quarter of last year, and yet only weeks later these workers are told they are not worth a pay rise for four years, and the conditions under which they have worked for so long will be done away with,” he said in February.
“Many of the 90 workers have been employed at the same site for more than 30 years, dating back to the days when it was ACI Glass.
“In the years since it was taken over by New Zealand-based Fletcher, it was business as usual until the latest EA negotiations.”
He said the outcome represented “a big shift from what management were threatening and their original bargaining position”.
“It was a long, hard industrial dispute,” Mr Davis said.
“Those members were heartened by the support shown by Dandenong locals.”
Fletcher Insulation general manager Justin Hollis said he was pleased that employees voted to accept the negotiated enterprise agreement (EA) and looked forward to them returning to work this week.
“The Australian manufacturing sector has undergone major structural changes over the past 30 years in response to intense competition from imported products and rising costs,” he said.
“The Fletcher Insulation plant in Dandenong is one of only two local glasswool insulation manufacturers that remain in operation in Australia.
“To ensure the plant remained viable in the long-term we sought to improve flexibility and productivity, while ensuring our employees’ conditions were protected and they remained well rewarded.
“We believe this balance has been achieved.”
