Press Release
NUW calls on Howard Government to finalise Empire Rubber GEERS money as delay stops ALL workers from being paid
Tuesday November 20, 2007
More than 350 former employees of failed car components company Huon Corporation face another bleak Christmas after the Howard Government has failed to live up to its promises.
None of the workers made redundant from the now closed FRN Frankston site nor the former Empire Rubber site (now Motherson Elastomers) in Bendigo can be paid all of their final entitlements until the outstanding Howard Government GEERS payments are met.
More than 100 Empire Rubber employees were made redundant in late May this year, paving the way for the sale of the company to Motherson.
At the time, these workers were told they would receive their GEERS entitlements in 12 to 16 weeks, but 23 weeks on, they are still yet to see a cent, with no guarantee of when the money will come through.
Until that money is paid all workers who have been made redundant since Huon Corporation went into voluntary administration in May 2006 are in limbo.
NUW Organiser Brad Dobson said the situation in Bendigo showed just how little regard the Howard Government had for working families.
“This is the third group of workers from Empire Rubber to be made redundant and the third time we have been forced to launch a public campaign to have their GEERS entitlements paid,” Dobson said.
“It seems that the Howard Government only acts when these stories hit the headlines. Until then you simply have to sit and wait for who knows how long.
“This is an absolutely disgraceful situation. These workers through no fault of their own have lost their jobs. These workers worked tirelessly with the NUW and liquidators SIMS Partners to ensure the sale of the Bendigo business to save more than 100 jobs in Bendigo and increase the money available to meet entitlements.
“When this situation began mid last year there was no money to pay any entitlements, now through a lot of hard work, workers stand to receive in excess of 60c in the dollar.
"But now when they really need some help from the Howard Government it turns its back on them.
“Some of our members have even rung the Government bureaucrats only to be told that they have absolutely no idea when the money would come through. That’s simply not good enough.”
Federal Member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons has thrown his support behind the former Empire Rubber workers, saying it just showed that the Howard Government had lost touch with Australian working families.
“The Howard Government has time and again let Australian working families down. It is so out of touch with regular workers and the struggles they face every day just to meet their mortgages and other bills, and that’s the ones who are fortunate enough to have jobs.
“In regional areas like Bendigo the situation is even worse, with several businesses collapsing in the past couple of years leaving working families extremely vulnerable.
“And how does the Howard Government respond, delay paying these families their GEERS entitlements, creating even more stress and anxiety.
“John Howard said during the recent leaders’ debate that the GEERS system was there to protect working families in the event that companies fail. Well if this is how the GEERS system works, it should not give any working family much confidence that they will be looked after if they lose their job.”
Last modified 2007-11-20 09:54 AM
