Around 40 CFMEU and ETU members at the multinational building materials manufacturer Etex in Matraville, Sydney are standing strong after being locked out for almost five weeks.
Etex workers at the plasterboard manufacturing facility are demanding a 6 per cent pay rise for each of three years, but the company is trying to starve them back to work after offering only 4.5 per cent.
The workers have maintained a picket at the gates since the lockout began on 12 August after one day of strike action.
Etex made $460 million net profit in 2023, but the company has come to every bargaining meeting with the same real wage-cutting offer of just 4.5 per cent.
As one CFMEU delegate told Solidarity, “We need to get better working conditions and a pay increase to cope with cost of living increases.”
Solidarity from CFMEU members at other workplaces as well as members of other unions has been crucial. CFMEU delegates have collected money for the Etex strike fund at their branch meetings and worksites.
Following the CFMEU being placed under administration, NTEU members from the University of Sydney branch carried a resolution in support of the CFMEU. A delegation of USYD NTEU members visited the Etex picket line on 6 September to deliver $1100 collected for the Etex workers.
Etex has been unable to manufacture plasterboard at Matraville during the dispute. But with a small number of scabs, some existing stock has been loaded onto trucks leaving the plant.
Administration emboldens Etex bosses
Mark Irving KC, the administrator of the CFMEU appointed by the Albanese government, wrote in an email to CFMEU members that the, “most important thing for you to know is that the union will continue to operate as normal.”
But the draconian administration regime imposed on the CFMEU has emboldened Etex bosses to pursue the prolonged lockout.
After the administrator was appointed, management told the workers’ bargaining team that they would just deal with the administrator from now on. The bosses clearly expect the administrator to show a more compliant attitude towards settling the dispute.
In week three of the lockout the administrator froze the strike funds that would normally be available to support the workers. There is still no sign of the administrator releasing the strike funds, leaving the Etex workers more vulnerable as the bosses try to starve them back to work.
Defiant
Etex workers remain determined and defiant. One worker told Solidarity, “The company is losing in many ways but they don’t want to show or tell.” Etex has almost exhausted its existing stock and will be under serious pressure if it cannot re-start manufacturing.
The Etex dispute is both a fight for a decent pay rise and improved conditions, and a warning about the disaster construction workers will face if the administration regime is not fought.
Unionists everywhere need to back the Etex workers.
By Jayden Rivers
Visit the picketline at Etex Siniat at 21/31 Military Road, Matraville, from 5am-2pm Monday to Saturday.
