Vic; Lockout at naval shipyard.

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2001
Vic; Lockout at naval shipyard.

More than 600 workers have been locked out of Melbourne's Williamstown naval shipyards
after negotiations over redundancy provisions stalled.

Employer Tenix Defence Systems locked the gates on the first shift at seven o'clock
this morning, saying union work bans made work at the yards effectively impossible.

The union bans which began at noon yesterday prevented construction of the Royal Australian
Navy's fifth Anzac frigate.

The bans also stopped workers operating machinery that lifts anything over 100 tonnes,
stopped electricians approving work and filing paperwork, and stopped workers from doing
jobs outside their classifications.

Australian Manufacturers Workers Union assistant secretary DARREN NELSON describes
the bans as minor, and has accused Tenix of taking a heavy-handed response to the industrial
action.

AAP RTV jmw/jlw/rt r

KEYWORD: TENIX (MELBOURNE)

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