A group of manufacturing workers in Melbourne’s west are striking against a company on the rampage against their wages and conditions. Bitzer, which makes commercial cooling evaporators, wants to remove rostered days off, stop contributing to income protection payments and pay new workers the award rate rather than the enterprise agreement rate.  It is also refusing to offer permanent workers a real wage rise and is proposing to slash the wages of casual workers.

The workers, members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, are seething at the company’s plans for a two-tier workforce. They say they will remain out the gate until the company backs down. Their picket runs 24 hours a day outside the Bitzer factory on Strezlecki Avenue, Sunshine. Solidarity visits are welcome.