Australian Paper has locked 102 maintenance workers out of its Maryvale paper mill in Victoria's Latrobe Valley, east of Melbourne, as part of a long-running industrial dispute.
The company notified workers this morning that they were locked out from 7:30am until Friday, July 10.
Workers at the Maryvale mill have been negotiating a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) with Australian Paper since March last year.
The workers are all members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and are all covered by an EBA negotiated by their union.
The union and the company are in dispute about the use of contract labour and income protection.
The AMWU said negotiations had not proceeded to discussions about the workers' pay claim.
Union blames cost cutting for lockout
The AMWU has accused Australian Paper of using the industrial dispute as a cover for cost cutting.
AMWU Gippsland organiser Steve Dodd said the company recently approached the union about shutting the mill down from June 28 and wanted the workers to take two weeks' annual leave.
"Obviously, our members weren't keen to do that and now we've got a lockout," Mr Dodd said.
"So they obviously want to get their way one way or the other, even using the industrial laws to make people sit on the grass.
"My understanding is they can't sell their paper and they've got stockpiles of it in warehouses."
Company says industrial action behind lockout
Australian Paper said it decided to lock the workers out for three weeks after they took protected strike action on Friday.
The company's general manager public relations and sustainability, Craig Dunn, said the workers were locked out to ensure work during a maintenance shut at the mill could be finished on time.
"It is vital that the maintenance work undertaken during this shut is successfully completed so that production employees can return in the second week of July," Mr Dunn said.
"We have been counting on our maintenance employees to complete this work. However we will now utilise external resources to ensure operational stability over the next three weeks."
