Vic: Yallourn calls for state govt support in dispute

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2001
Vic: Yallourn calls for state govt support in dispute

MELBOURNE, Dec 18 AAP - An electricity generator today urged the Victorian government
to support its bid to end an industrial row that has shut down its power station.

Yallourn Energy will make an urgent application before the Australian Industrial Relations
Commission (AIRC) today to end the bargaining period, which would remove the union's right
to take protected strike action.

"We call on the Victorian government to support Yallourn Energy's application to finally
bring this dispute to an end," Yallourn mine manager Lindsay Ward told ABC radio.

"Industrial action will certainly not resolve this dispute. Striking maintenance workers
should return to work and allow the AIRC to finally resolve this dispute after three years
of failed negotiations."

The station, which supplies 20 per cent of the state's power, shut down on Friday night.

Striking mine maintenance workers are due to meet again on Christmas Eve.

Mr Ward today repeated his warning that the state's power supply could be put at risk
if temperatures rose, as it would take several days to get the station up and running
again.

Yallourn Energy and workers from three unions have been locked in a dispute over the
company's push for workers to accept a forced redundancy agreement and the unions' claim
for a improved pay and conditions.

About 65 maintenance workers walked off the job on Monday last week, saying 10,000
jobs had been lost in the Latrobe Valley, in the state's east, over the past decade and
they would not accept further retrenchments.

The dispute resulted in statewide blackouts early last year when power use increased
as temperatures soared.

AAP lmw/gfr/las/br

KEYWORD: YALLOURN

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