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Category: Electricity Energy and Utilities / Industry / Industrial Relations / Work

Power company threatens to lock Victorian staff out as strike plans escalate

Thursday, 15 Dec 2016 09:04:34 | Kellie Lazzaro And Patrick Wright

Workers at the Latrobe Valley's biggest power generator have voted to take industrial action next week if their demands for a 35-hour-work week are not granted. (ABC News: Peter Giafis)

A planned 24-hour strike at the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley over the Christmas and New Year period could affect the state's power supply, the plant's owner has said.

Key points:

  • CFMEU plans to take protected industrial action at Loy Yang A on December 28
  • Company says action will put Victoria's energy generation at risk
  • Electrical Trade Union workers likely to join strike

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has notified AGL, the station's owner, of protected industrial action on December 28.

The union said the strike could force the shutdown of four generating units at the power station for 24 hours.

The brown-coal-fired power plant provides about a third of Victoria's energy needs.

AGL confirmed it had received notice from the CFMEU and said it was planning for how the station could be safely shutdown.

"This action involves shift managers, unit controllers and assistant unit controllers that are represented by the CFMEU, and effectively means a complete shut down of 2,210MW of electricity production from the entire power station," a statement from the company said.

"This action will create significant disruption and put Victoria's power generation at risk."

AGL Loy Yang general manager Steve Rieniets said workers at the station and the mine, which also supplies coal to the nearby Loy Yang B station, would be locked out.

"This decision is not taken lightly," he said.

"We regret that the dispute has reached this stage, particularly after AGL Loy Yang has been working to reach agreement with the CFMEU."

Loy Yang B is jointly owned by French company Engie and Japan's Misui & Co Ltd. It is unclear if it will be able to operate during the strike.

The Hazelwood power station, another brown-coal-fired plant in the Latrobe Valley, is closing in March but will still be operational over the Christmas-New Year period.

Outages possible, but unlikely: energy expert

Grattan Institute energy program director Tony Wood said while the Loy Yang A generated a significant amount of Victoria's electricity, it was unlikely a 24-hour strike at the plant would cause an outage.

"I think both the company and the union are trying to have their stoush in a way that doesn't effect the electricity," he said.

"Neither of them would be easily forgiven by the community if that was to happen in this period between Christmas and New Year.

"It tends to be a period of low demand, particularly industrial demand, and even though we might get a couple of hot days and domestic demand might be quite high, we should be OK."

Workers represented by the Electrical Trades Union are also likely to strike.

The dispute over wages and conditions of more than 500 workers at Loy Yang A has dragged on for the past 18 months.

A CFMEU spokesman said the most recent offer put to workers was rejected because it reduced staff numbers at the station, especially on weekends.

AGL said union members working at Loy Yang A had "twice rejected generous pay rises of more than 20 per cent, preservation of generous work benefits and job security in the form of no forced redundancies".

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