Hundreds of South Australia Holden workers have accepted a new workplace deal three-year wage freeze this week, as the company tries to keep its production in the country.
The workers, many of whom are of Greek decent, were also asked to approve changes to sick leave, overtime and shift breaks.
On Tuesday, 1,700 employees at the Elizabeth plant in Adelaide’s northern suburbs effectively voted to keep their jobs and continue producing the carmaker’s Commodore and Cruze models till 2016.
A planned three per cent wage increase from November will now be deferred as the carmaker looks to save $15 million in labour costs in order to remain viable and keep building cars in Australia.
However, the outcome of the vote does not guarantee the plant’s future, with Holden’s survival now resting on a new government deal to be negotiated after the federal election to secure funding for the period from 2016 to 2022. The final decision about the company’s future will then be made by General Motors in Detroit.
A proposed 10 per cent pay cut by the company was earlier taken off the table after strong resistance and after the plant’s work force was cut by 400 in July after workers accepted redundancy packages.
GM’s tenure in Australia hinges on whether or not a future federal government is willing to provide upwards of $200 million on top of the $275 million already pledged to subsidise the company.