Vic: Public meeting over future of Yallourn Energy

AAP General News (Australia)
12-12-2000
Vic: Public meeting over future of Yallourn Energy

The renegade unionist who led a wildcat strike that blacked out parts of Victoria will
head a public meeting in Melbourne tomorrow.

LUKE VAN DER MEULEN, secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's
Latrobe Valley sub-branch, says what happened at Yallourn Energy has broad implications.

He says the Latrobe Valley community has undergone 12 years of rationalisation and
it's feared another round of job losses will further smash the community.

Mr VAN DER MUELEN says people all around the state will be interested in the issue.

He says legal orders prohibited him from commenting on the possibility of further strike
action at Yallourn over the pay and conditions dispute.

But in a statement advertising the 7pm meeting at Melbourne's YWCA, he warned a big
industrial dispute is brewing.

And he said the meeting aimed to inform the public about the reasons the unions will
be forced to take action.

The meeting is expected to be attended by a broad range of community groups.

A doubling in power prices, due to come into effect next year, will be discussed by
the Energy Action Group.

Meanwhile, Mr Van Der Meulen said the state government had let workers down after promising
to find a satisfactory resolution for all parties to the Yallourn dispute on the night
of the strike.

"I don't think people can just ignore what's happening in a community that's suffered
greatly as a result of electricity privatisation," he said.

But he said the union was having on-going talks with the government.

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has ordered Yallourn Energy workers
to vote on a new enterprise agreement via secret ballot from December 14.

AAP RTV hmg/clr

KEYWORD: YALLOURN (MELBOURNE)

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