Press Release
Flexara bid gets nod from Empire Rubber workers
Wednesday March 28, 2007
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NUW National Assistant Secretary Tim Kennedy
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NUW Members at Empire Rubber in Bendigo have voted overwhelmingly today (Wednesday March 28) to enter into sales negotiations with Flexara Industries to try to salvage the ailing business.
Empire Rubber went into Administration and subsequent Liquidation after its parent company, Huon Corporation, collapsed last June.
After nearly nine months of uncertainty, 220 workers at the Bendigo automotive component site were left with two options at today’s three-hour mass meeting; enter into a sale agreement with one of the two potential purchasers or vote on a run-out deal which would have effectively closed the factory.
Purchasers, Indian-based multinational Motherson and Australian-based consortium Flexara, were able to present their respective proposals to the workers at the mass meeting and in the end, NUW Assistant National Secretary Tim Kennedy said the Flexara bid won out with members because it made more commercial sense.
“It was a tough decision this afternoon. On one hand the workers had Motherson, a large multinational, offering 100 full-time jobs and up to 70c in the dollar for those who have already or will be made redundant in the sale process. On the other there was Flexara, a smaller, Australian-based consortium, offering 145 full-time jobs and up to 80c in the dollar for those made redundant.
“Both of them came with their own risks, and our members had to decide which proposal they felt would best look after not only those who would continue to work here, but those who have already been made redundant and those who will be made redundant during this process.
“It is never a happy situation to have anyone losing their jobs, and there are 75 people who face that prospect in this deal. But we have to remember where this company was nine months ago; that was no jobs and no money for entitlements. This is a far superior outcome than that.”
Kennedy praised the workers at the site for the way they had stuck together over nine very trying months.
“This has been a terrible situation for everyone involved, living with so much uncertainty. To their credit, everyone has stuck together and worked together to achieve a reasonable outcome,” Kennedy said.
“This just goes to show the value of collective strength. These members through their collective power have been able to have a real say in their futures. If they had been on Individual Contracts like the Howard Government wants, the site would have closed down last June and everyone would have been without a job and have no entitlements.”
While the workers have voted to pursue the Flexara deal, Kennedy said there were still some formalities to be dealt with before the sale was finalised.
“This decision will now be put to the committee of inspection – the committee of creditors – later this week for final approval. Flexara will then have a week to complete due diligence on the business and complete negotiations for a Collective Agreement with the workers before the sale process is finalised.”
Last modified 2007-03-29 01:41 PM
