Pilkington hit by Holden glass row

An industrial dispute is set to close Geelong's Pilkington glass plant for up to six hours today. The dispute stems from a General Motors decision to source glass components from overseas, a decision that could endanger more than 100 jobs at Pilkington's Geelong, Laverton and Pooraka plants because the company currently supplies the majority of Holden's glass products.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union division state assistant secretary Frank Vari said the car manufacturer's decision was disappointing and indicated it had little regard for Australian workers.

``We don't want companies like Holden going for the cheaper option,'' Mr Vari said.

``You see the ads and they say Holden means a great deal to Australia but I say Australia means very little to Holden because if it meant anything at all these workers wouldn't be losing their jobs.''

As a result of Holden's decision, Geelong workers will join their Laverton counterparts in a protest at the manufacturer's Fishermans Bend headquarters this afternoon.

``The reason why we're having this is because General Motors Holden made a decision that from the second half of 2006, the Holden Commodore will have its windscreens sourced from Thailand at the expense of Australian jobs,'' Mr Vari said.

Mr Vari said the union would also consider further action in a bid to save Pilkington employees from retrenchment.

``There's a number of actions under consideration, we've spoken to the State Government and also spoken to (Member for Corio) Gavan O'Connor in Geelong and we want to see those jobs remain at Pilkington,'' he said.