New twist in IR battle as employer locks out staff until February

While many experts have argued the Rudd Government’s Fair Work industrial relations regime has tipped the balance of power towards unions, at least one employer is fighting back by taking action of its own.

Healthcare services company Dorevitch Pathology, which is owned by Symbion Health, has locked out 22 workers until February 1 following strike action by 200 workers over pay rates.

The 22 workers, who are members of the Medical Scientists Association of Victoria, were locked out just before the MSAV was due to launch its latest industrial action campaign running from December 14 to December 16. MSAV members subsequently voted to suspend the industrial action.

After consultation with legal advisers, the union yesterday lodged an application with Fair Work Australia under section 425 of the Fair Work Act, requesting that FWA make an order to suspend the industrial action by Dorevitch and allow the 22 staff back to work.

MSAV chief Rosemary Kelly says the union will then try and get the company back to the negotiating table, preferably with some the involvement of Fair Work Australia in any fresh talks.

Kelly says the union is concerned that the new Fair Work laws allow companies to lock out workers on such a targeted basis.

“We don’t know how or why they’ve locked out 22 workers – we think they are just trying to intimidate the whole group. Obviously they couldn’t run the business if they stood the whole 200 down,” Kelly says.

But IR lawyer Andrew Douglas from Douglas Workplace & Litigation Lawyers says the use of short, abrupt lockout will be much more commonplace as employers seek to flex their muscle in negotiating disputes.

While lockouts can only be done in response to industrial action taken by another party, Douglas says some employers who see industrial action on the horizon are actively planning lockouts, putting contingency plans in place to ensure their business in not interrupted, and then launching a lockout immediately after union action.

“If you plan it properly and get all your contingencies in place, you can do it immediately,” Douglas says.

“It’s quite a powerful tool and one of the few left to employers.”