The Australian Workers' Union Victoria today announced that workers at Portland Aluminium have voted overwhelmingly to take Protected Industrial Action following 16 weeks of enterprise agreement negotiations with Alcoa that have gone nowhere.
More than 540 workers at the region's largest employer have had enough of Alcoa's games: offering pay rises with one hand while trying to tear up decades of workplace protections with the other.
AWU Southwest Organiser Carl Millard said the decision came after heated discussions with Alcoa management today, where the company's latest offer revealed their true intentions despite appearing reasonable on wages alone.
"Alcoa thinks they can buy off our members with a 12% wage increase over three years while simultaneously stripping away conditions that workers have fought 40 years to secure," Mr Millard said. "Our members see right through this corporate sleight of hand."
"When 98.5% of your workforce tells you to go back to the drawing board, smart companies listen. Alcoa apparently needs a stronger message," Mr Millard said.
The union surveyed members comprehensively, revealing workers' complete fury with the company's attempts to roll back fundamental workplace protections. The mandate for action couldn't be clearer: workers are standing united to defend conditions that define their working lives.
"After 15 meetings, 5 Fair Work Commission hearings, and 16 weeks of negotiations, we're done with Alcoa's tactics," Mr Millard said. "Our members work in some of the most challenging industrial conditions in the country to keep one of the world's most significant aluminium operations running. They deserve fair compensation and the protection of their existing entitlements, not corporate games that pit one against the other."
The AWU is demanding guarantees around income protection and delegates' rights, alongside critical improvements including better progression opportunities for operators, recognition of prior learning, and permanent offers for permanent roles.
"These workers are the backbone of a facility that generates $560 million in export value annually for Victoria," Mr Millard said. "They've earned their conditions through decades of hard work and solidarity, and they won't let them be bargained away now."
If Alcoa continues to play hardball, workers will commence a 48 hour Protected Industrial Action from 8:00pm Tuesday, August 5 through to 8:00pm Thursday August 7, the first stoppage of its kind in the plant's history.
Rolling 6-hour stoppages will follow if management doesn't get the message.
"Portland Aluminium is Victoria's only aluminium smelter, producing 358,000 metric tons annually," AWU Victoria State Secretary Ronnie Hayden said. "Our members have built this operation into what it is today, and they won't stand by while their rights are dismantled. We're committed to reaching a fair agreement, but if Alcoa wants a fight over fundamental worker protections, they'll get one."
"The choice is simple - respect the workers who make this company profitable or face the consequences of 40 years of solidarity in action."
