Please support Geelong woolcombing workers who have been locked out of their workplace for not accepting a 25% pay cut.
_____ <http://www.vthc.org.au/> TCFUA letter writing campaign Support the locked out workers Geelong Wool Combing has, as of the 11th of May locked out its 100 strong workforce due to their refusal to accept a 26% pay cut. The company is attempting to pressure workers, all members of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, in order to achieve what they call "greater flexibility" but which will result in 100 workers being significantly worse off. The TCFUA is mounting a letter writing campaign designed to put pressure on Elders Australia, who own 41% of Geelong Wool Combing and the Futuris Corporation which owns Elders to take steps to intervene in this dispute. We are calling on people to write letters to Les Wozniczka, the CEO of the Futuris Corporation and board member of both Geelong Wool Combing and Elders Australia, to ask him to demand that the company cease their lock out immediately and negotiate with the union. Please sign the pro-forma letter or write a personalized letter to the companies and get other members of your union to do same. We need to ensure this dispute is resolved quickly so as to minimize the harm caused to the workers involved and their families. You can write, email or fax Les Wozniczka at the following addresses and numbers: Futuris Corporation Limited Level 6, 27 Currie Street Adelaide SA 5000 Tel: (+61 8) 8425 4999 Fax: (+61 8) 8410 1597 Send your feedback to any of the Futuris Corporation <http://www.futuris.com.au/contact_talktous.asp> Directors. Les Wozniczka Chief Executive Officer Futuris Corporation Ltd. Elder House Level 6, 27 Currie Street Adelaide SA 5000 Dear Mr. Wozniczka, I am writing to you as a concerned member of the public regarding the situation at Geelong Wool Combing, a company that Elders Australia owns a 41% stake in and that you are a director of. You may be aware that Geelong Wool Combing has a taken the highly drastic step of locking out its entire workforce for what could be an unlimited amount of time. I believe that this act betrays a lack of good faith on behalf of the company to sit down with the employees and their union to discuss this matter and arrive at a mutually agreeable situation. Not only that, but if the lock-out continues for much longer, many of the workers and their families will be put through severe hardship. This matter has already been the subject of much reporting in the press and it seems likely that further bad publicity for both Geelong Wool Combing and Elders Australia will result if the lockout continues. You are aware of the importance of reputation and brands in today's highly competitive economy. Surely it is not in the interests of Elders Australia, who have worked so hard at crafting an image of a company that helps people in need, particularly rural Australians, to be associated with this type of aggressive action against regional workers? I ask you to urge the management of Geelong Wool Combing to re-consider their actions and put a stop to the lock-out. I am sure that this would create a much better climate in which to negotiate around the issues at hand. Yours faithfully, -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
