Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In September last year I spoke about the plight of maintenance workers at Esso, who, despite their company's booming profits, were deceitfully sacked. It's five months later, and I'm back in here speaking about the very same abhorrent workplace practices. Once again, this government has failed to lift one finger when it comes to protecting hardworking Australians and their jobs. I'll always stand up for Australian workers, because on this side we know that they are the foundation of this country. Workers built this country, not fat cat merchant bankers.

Last year, UGL completed their seven-year contract with Esso and were awarded a five-year maintenance contract for Esso's onshore and offshore facilities in Bass Strait. This was done because of the expertise of the workers, who did their job and did it well. But, in a trend that's becoming all too common with these big multinationals in Australia, the reward given for this hard work was to fire the existing workforce and then offer their jobs back at much reduced wages and conditions. UGL undermined the Fair Work Act and refused those contractors their right to bargain for fair wages. On top of that, they cut annual leave entitlements and shift loadings and also put in place unsociable rosters, meaning workers with families would be ripped away from their homes and loved ones for extended periods of time. It's take it or leave it as far as they're concerned: workers either cop the cuts to their wages and conditions or they lose their jobs.

There are 200 people—whose partners, families and livelihoods depend on a steady income and a safe workplace—now facing an uncertain future. While the Prime Minister might be able to go home and live comfortably on his personal stock of truffles and gold bars, the Esso workers risk defaulting on their mortgages, not being able to put food on the table, and not being able to take their kids to the doctor or pay for their schooling needs.

Meanwhile, this government gives big multinationals like ExxonMobil—the sixth largest company in the world—tax cuts. These are the same multinationals that continue to intimidate and exploit their workers. Just as a sidenote, how much tax does Esso pay on the $8.5 billion profit they made in 2014-15? Something the government seems to turn a blind eye to is the fact they paid zero tax. That means that the 200 workers who they've made redundant have paid more tax than this multinational company has.

Since the beginning of this debacle, Esso workers have been doing what anyone would do when faced with a 15 or 30 per cent pay cut: they're peacefully fighting for their rights at work. Throughout almost 240 days, the unions have done the right thing. They've liaised with local police, conducted themselves very peacefully and there have been no incidents whatsoever from the union side. Unions like the AWU, ETU and AMWU are out there protecting workers and standing up for families in these regional communities, while the government are sitting in their rent-free homes and trying to stand on them. When will this government stand up and fight these attacks on wages and working conditions in the Longford community?

The question has to be asked: why has the local member ignored the plight of these families? Does anyone on the government side actually give a stuff? It's a sad fact that there's only one thing you can count on the government doing: they will always back the big end of town over you.

Last month I went along to Longford to hear firsthand from these great Australians. While we were there we noticed two cowardly morons hiding in their vans, sneakily filming and taking photos from down the street. The workers told me that this thug-run security outfit is constantly there, doing slow drive-bys of the picket line, taking photos—even taking photos of the workers' kids without their parents' permission—ripping down legally placed signs and using tactics to try to provoke workers into unlawful activities. Seriously, you have to ask yourself: what insipid low-life would do that? Well, their boss, Peter McWilliam, turned up and, I assure you, all the questions were answered.

Does ExxonMobil really think this scientologyesque stalking squad is the answer to its abhorrent treatment of hardworking Australians? Well, their squirrel squad doesn't scare me and it doesn't scare the workers or the unions. We're not scared of standing up for what's right and we won't stop until Esso workers are granted the wages and conditions that they have worked for and they deserve.

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