• Labor MP Fran Logan with workers made redundant by CKJV, including ‘Ronald’ (closest to camera). Photo by Steve Grant
WORKERS at a Henderson engineering firm have been given a personal taste of the Abbott government’s attack on unionism—and it’s a bitter one.
This week 250 workers were made redundant at CKJV, a joint venture between Chicago Bridge & Iron and Kentz Pty Ltd which has been manufacturing huge “modules” for the Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island
The long-held union tradition of “first on, last off” has been given short shrift by the company. Workers who’ve been with the project the longest took the biggest hit in the redundancies.
Ronald (who didn’t want his real name used in case it hurt his job prospects) told the Herald he’s been a rigger for 20 years and has never been treated this way before. “When we were employed we were promised there’d be opportunities to get to Barrow Island,” he said.
The father of three acknowledges the company gave workers plenty of warning that redundancies were coming, and a form alerting them to other CKJV projects, but says it rankles to be made redundant only to see the company advertise the same position.
He believes CKJV is stalling because it doesn’t have accommodation ready on Barrow Island for all its workers, but says that could have been negotiated.
He also suspects experienced workers were targeted so the company could save money on future redundancies when projects wind up.
He now faces the prospect of looking for work in a tightening market, with the mining boom fading fast.
Cockburn Labor MP Fran Logan has called on WA premier Colin Barnett to stand up for the workers.
He wants Mr Barnett to call CKJV to protest the loss of local jobs at the same time it flies in workers from over east.
“I mean, in Victoria and Queensland, their premiers have led from the front over job losses. Barnett has not said a word,” Mr Logan says.
Two months ago the Abbott government brought in a new code of conduct for the construction industry.
It specifically bans workplace agreements that stipulate first on, first off.
The Herald called CKJV only to be told the company “doesn’t usually talk to the public.
by STEVE GRANT
Bit of a stretch to link these lay-offs to the federal government. First-on, first-off laws are a bad idea – companies should be able to decide who works for them based only on merits, not on how long you’ve been working there. I’d be pretty pissed off if I got fired and some incompetent geezer kept his job just because he’d been there longer (not that “Ronald” or any other workers necessarily fall into that category).