Vic: Union members walk off the job at electricity supplier

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2001
Vic: Union members walk off the job at electricity supplier

MELBOURNE, Dec 10 AAP - Maintenance workers at Victoria's Yallourn Energy power station
voted to walk off the job this morning for another seven days.

Electrical Trades Union (ETU) Victorian secretary Dean Mighell said, however, the workers
had offered Yallourn Energy an olive branch and would consider postponing their industrial
action until after summer.

Mr Mighell said the union would suspend industrial action until March if the company
lifted its application before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC).

Yallourn, which generates one-fifth of the state's power in the Latrobe Valley, has
sought a hearing in the commission on January 2 to have any further industrial action
declared illegal.

"We will offer Yallourn Energy a peace deal which will secure Victoria's power supplies
for summer," Mr Mighell said.

"It is a three or four-month moratorium where we will not pursue any industrial action
in exchange for the company not moving to sack our membership."

About 65 maintenance workers continued the rolling seven-day stoppages this morning
in their campaign against forced redundancies.

Meanwhile, the ETU, the metal workers' union and Australian Workers Union have lodged
an application in the AIRC for a new enterprise bargaining agreement based on Yallourn's
own offers on job security last year.

If the unions' application is successful, it could pave the way for an early end to
the dispute, which has been effectively running for three years.

"If this gets up, the dispute's over: there will be no need for Yallourn to terminate
the bargaining period - because we would have an agreement," Mr Mighell said.

But the company has refused to sign the enterprise agreement.

The hearing is set for 2.15pm (AEDT) today.

The body managing Victoria's privatised power system, NEMMCO (National Electricity
Marketing Manager), has said power shortages were unlikely unless Victoria had a run of
hot days.

A spokesman for Yallourn Energy said the latest round of industrial action had no further
effect on electricity supplies.

He said the rolling stoppages - which began last Monday - had cut back electricity
output at the plant by 75 per cent.

AAP svm/gfr/ph/bwl

KEYWORD: YALLOURN

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