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The Hon. JAN BURNSWOODS [6.15 p.m.]: I draw the attention of the House to the great victory of the workers at Joy Manufacturing in their dispute at the Moss Vale factory. I condemn the actions of the company, scabs and lawyers involved in their attempt to undermine the fundamental right of workers to act collectively and to organise themselves for the betterment of their working conditions and lives. The history of this appalling attempt to strip the workers of their livelihoods has been spoken about on several occasions in this House by my colleague the Hon. P. T. Primrose.
Tonight I would also like to focus the attention of the House on the hard work of all those involved in this great success against the company's exploitative actions. The 63 Joy Manufacturing workers have stood firm against a variety of threats and pressures ever since they were locked out by the company and despite the tactics employed by the company in attempting to break this dispute, with the support of such committed unions as the Construction, Forestry Mining and Energy Union [CFMEU], the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union [AMWU] and the South Coast Labour Council. The workers and their families were outstanding. So, too, were the unions and others in their commitment to the Joy workers, both physically at the site and financially.
Sixty-three unionists and their families refused to be intimidated during this dispute, despite the presence of security guards, private investigators and security cameras. They kept up their peaceful process seven days a week, 24 hours a day from March until October. At the end of this dispute, when the matter came before Justice Munroe in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the workers received a fair and just settlement. Justice Munroe's decision provided for one union agreement to cover the entire site. The company has now conceded that it failed completely in its attempts to deunionise the site.
Justice Munroe's decision also provides for a substantial wage increase of 12 per cent over the three-year life of the agreement, with no productivity trade-offs, consultation with the unions on the use of contractors and casuals, the retention of award entitlements, access to a fully accredited training and classification structure, travel time and a 15 per cent allowance for off-site work, preference for company employees rather than contractors for off-site work, and the monitoring of contractor and labour hire employees by a consultative committee. Following that decision the workers at Joy still maintained their proud protest against the actions of the company and refused to return to work as long as there were still scabs on the site. I was delighted when they proudly marched back to work on 23 October. I am pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute not only to the workers, their families and the local community but also to those unionists and others who supported them through the months that this dispute, which was initiated by the company, continued.