EMPIRE Rubber wants to axe 108 Bendigo workers without paying them a cent of their entitlements because the man who bought the company seven months ago has stripped it of its assets.
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The business' 360 workers went on strike yesterday, vowing to stay off the job until about $5 million of entitlements owed to the redundant workers is paid.
It is understood Huon Corporation managing director John Schulz diverted Empire Rubber's property holdings into personally linked interests shortly after buying the firm from Nylex Automotive in December.
Administrator Ken Sellars, of SimsPartners, has confirmed those transactions are being investigated, explaining that a caveat was placed on the property so it could not be sold or have its title altered.
Workers are hoping the property interests will be returned to the business so that entitlements can be paid and the remaining workers can go back to their jobs.
As workers continued picketing Empire Rubber's four gates late last night, all 360 employees remained in fear for their jobs.
The strike was called before the administrator could announce who was to be axed.
Meanwhile, Mr Schulz refused to personally return numerous phone calls from The Advertiser, instead referring the newspaper's inquiries to Mr Sellars and then to his lawyers.
A fortnight after the managing director said he was hopeful any workers made redundant would get their full entitlements, Mr Schulz's legal advisers told The Advertiser their client would not comment on the job losses.
National Union of Workers state secretary Antony Thow said workers wanted to know where the company's assets had gone.
"It was probably the most disgraceful company stripping I've ever seen," Mr Thow said.
"Everybody was shocked when the administrator concluded his investigations, and really everyone is just devastated by the news.
"When we go back and look at the transaction that Nylex made with Huon, there was a position where the business was sold for $17 million, and less than seven months later, when the administrator was appointed, there was less than $150,000 in the bank.
"We have seen a classic case today of asset stripping, where assets have been removed from Huon into the hands of directors, and we are demanding, and the workers are demanding that those assets be returned immediately and until such time there will be no further work at these three factories."
Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union state secretary Dave Oliver said Nylex should also be held to account.
"This situation really beggars belief," Mr Oliver said.
"Long-term employees are not only facing losing their jobs, but looking at the prospect of losing all their accrued entitlements.
"We've gone from a company that was asset rich - it had many millions of dollars backing it - to a company now that has stripped the assets away and separated from the employees to see them left with no entitlements.
"Nylex must be accountable to their long-term employees, because a lot of these employees have given 20-years-plus service... and Nylex can't simply turn its back and leave these workers on the scrap heap high and dry."
