Vic: Power protest aimed at company, not consumers

AAP General News (Australia)
08-02-2000
Vic: Power protest aimed at company, not consumers

MELBOURNE, Aug 2 AAP - Industrial action gets under way at one of Victoria's major
electricity suppliers today - but it's designed to hit the company rather than the consumer.

Power generation will be wound down at Yallourn Energy in the La Trobe Valley, but
it is not expected to be enough to hit householders.

The industrial action is being waged because of an alleged stalemate in pay negotiations.

The unions are angry at the company's plan to take a clause out of a new enterprise
bargaining agreement (EBA) which prohibits compulsory redundancies.

About 450 unionists will cut back power from 1,450 to 950 megawatts and restrict the
amount of coal used by half to around 18,000 tonnes.

But a reduction by 500 megawatts would not affect the state's power supply, the National
Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) and the Victorian Energy Networks Corporation
(VENCorp) said.

"We don't expect 500 megawatts would cause any difficulties to the power system," NEMMCO
spokesman Paul Price said.

The Australian Services Union and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(CFMEU) authorised the work bans after reaching a stalemate in their negotiations with
Yallourn Energy.

Yallourn's acting chief executive officer Mike Smith said he was unable to gauge the
ultimate effect the work bans would have on power production.

"If there's a breakdown in the mine, the possibility of running out of coal is a real
one," he told AAP.

Mr Smith said the company wanted to open a new mine and modernise the Yallourn power
plant but union demands about employee security were inhibiting development.

CFMEU spokesman Rodney Hart said the action was not likely to affect power supplies
to Victorians but was designed to hurt the company.

"The action is designed to pursue our claims on the company," he told AAP.

"Obviously, until we see movement on the claims we'd like to see the action stay in place."

AAP hmg/er/arb/de

KEYWORD: YALLOURN DAYLEAD

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