The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) today announced its members will recommence industrial action at Tomago Aluminium following management's refusal to continue negotiations in good faith over a fair wage agreement.
AWU NSW Secretary Tony Callinan confirmed that AWU members will recommence regular, systematic protected industrial action in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"Despite our members' significant compromises over recent years, Tomago Aluminium management continues to undervalue their workforce while the share price climbs and they hold their hands out for their share of billions of dollars in government support," said Callinan.
The Sunday morning action will involve a total stoppage of work across the entire plant for six hours from 2am. Tomago Aluminium have also been notified of a three hour stoppage on Tuesday morning.
The dispute centres on a mere 1% difference between the parties' positions.
Workers' revised claim of 4% per year over three years with backdated pay to December 31, 2024 when the last agreement expired, is agonisingly close to management's offer of 4%, 3.5%, and 3.5% with no back pay.
"Our members have effectively taken pay cuts over the past three years as inflation has run above 6.6%," Callinan explained.
"They've done their part to support the company's viability, but enough is enough, we can't continue going backwards."
The industrial action follows a brief period of protected industrial action last week which demonstrated the workers' crucial role in the facility's operations and resulted in significant production delays.
Tomago Aluminium, which consumes 1000 megawatt hours of electricity and represents 12-13% of New South Wales' power usage, has a workforce of 1000 employees and generates billions in turnover.
The timing is particularly concerning given recent government support for the industry, including a $2 billion tax incentive package announced by the Prime Minister during a visit to the facility last month.
"The AWU has worked constructively with both government and industry to ensure the long-term viability of manufacturing aluminum production in Australia," Callinan added.
"We stopped our industrial action last week and committed to no industrial action until after Friday 22nd February, in return for a commitment from Tomago to return to the bargaining table for intensive bargaining this week.
"They turned up to a meeting on Monday morning and said that their current offer was a good offer for the employees, and they were going to put it out for a vote.
"It's disappointing to see Tomago management respond to our good faith offer by refusing to continue negotiations and provide workers with a fair wage increase.
"Because Tomago uses so much power, about 12% of the power in NSW, and spends a lot on gas, alumina, bauxite and other raw materials the payroll cost is a relatively small portion of their budget compared to other industries, which is why management's position is so ridiculous.
"We will commence stoppages in the early hour of Sunday morning and have further action planned for Tuesday next week, AWU members have had a gutful of being disrespected by Tomago and they are committed to fight for as long as it takes to get a fair deal."
The AWU remains open to further discussions but insists that any agreement must recognise workers' contributions and protect their real wages against inflation.
