Volgren Dandenong workers to stop work

By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS

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VOLGREN employees will resume stopwork action tomorrow as part of an industrial dispute with the Dandenong South bus maker.

Last Monday, about 100 workers protested outside the company’s Hammond Road gates during a full-day strike. Many claimed the workplace culture had turned “nasty” since Grenda’s sold off 75 per cent of the business to bus-making multinational Marcopolo in February.

Volgren tradesman Roger Gramtham said workers were missing the generosity of former boss Ken Grenda – who awarded a $15 million windfall to his Grenda’s workers in January from a $400 million sell-off.

And shop steward Mark Fidanza said: “It’s gone from a family company that cared about us to one that wants to take away our rights.”

Another worker, ‘Bill’, said Ken Grenda used to visit the factory floor and would know each of his workers by their first name. “I’ve never met anyone from Marcopolo,” he said.

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