Saturday, August 20, 2016

AWU: Britax workers take fight to major retailers

Thursday 18th August 2016

Britax workers will take their battle to keep their jobs in Australia and child car seats Australian-made with a series of rallies and meetings in shopping centres in the coming week.

Workers walked off the job on Monday and have been holding a vigil at the gates of the Sunshine factory ever since in protest at the company’s decision to offshore jobs to China. They are now in defiance of a Fair Work Commission order to return to work.

Australian Workers’ Union Acting Victorian Secretary Liam O’Brien said Britax had a highly profitable operation at Sunshine, but was seeking even larger returns by moving to China.

“These are very hard working, law abiding people who are proud of the jobs they do. Proud to produce the only totally Australian-made car safety seats for kids, and desperately worried about the future,” Mr O’Brien said.

“Britax is making money hand over fist at Sunshine because its products have an impeccable safety record and have been trusted by generations of Australian parents. The decision to sack these workers is putting profits before safety.”

Britax plans to make the first workers redundant in January 2017 and is about to start sending manufacturing components to China in anticipation of work starting there.

“It is not too late to keep a vital piece of manufacturing in Australia, to save these workers, and to ensure that Britax child car seats remain trusted to protect our children,” Mr O’Brien said.

“I don’t believe there would be a parent out there who is prepared to compromise when it comes to their children’s safety.”   

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