Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present a petition that has been approved by the Standing Committee on Petitions. This petition has been signed by 79 workers, families and residents who live in the Victorian rural city of Wangaratta in my electorate of Indi. The intention of the petition is to draw the House's attention to the failure of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee, FEG, to cover the full entitlements owed to the redundant Bruck Textile Technologies, particularly banked time and fully accrued time. The petition further calls on the House to introduce legislation to stop companies from relying on the FEG to pay owed entitlements that should properly be paid by the companies. I support the sentiments of this petition. It is clear that these workers had additional entitlements owed to them by the company that do not fall within the FEG. This is the main concern that drives the petition.

The petitioners are also concerned that the corporate structure that led to the Bruck workers being left without their entitlements may create the same course of action with other workers in the future. In the words of the workers, they call on this House to 'not let this happen again, protect workers and stop companies from relying on FEG to pay entitlements'.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of former Bruck Textile Technologies workers, families and residents in and near the Victorian Rural City of Wangaratta draws to the attention of the House for the need to amend the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) to retrospectively provide full entitlements for the redundant Bruck Textile Technologies workers, these entitlements being sick leave, banked time and full accrued time. This amendment will protect workers at Australian Textile Mills in Wangaratta who may face the same redundancy process undertaken by management of Australian Textile Mills, formerly Bruck Textiles Technologies. This petition further calls on the House to introduce legislation to stop companies from relying on FEG to pay owed entitlements, that should be properly paid by the companies.

We therefore ask the House to acknowledge the unfair corporate conduct by the management of Bruck Textile Technologies and to make available funds to the former workers who did not receive their full entitlements

from 79 citizens

Petition received.