Wednesday, 10 January 2007

Origin Workers Could Lose Even More - Union

Origin Pacific workers who are already thousands of dollars out of pocket stand to lose even more money in a wrangle over who should be responsible for sorting out the failed airline’s financial affairs, says their union.

“We all want to know why Origin Pacific failed, but spending money owed to the company’s workers on the likes of lawyers and accountants is not acceptable, said Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little.

Origin Pacific went into receivership in September, and now some creditors are shaping up for a row with company owners over who should be appointed liquidators.

Mr Little said that under the law, money owed to workers in holiday pay, redundancy pay and wages in lieu of notice took priority over all other claims except tax.

“These workers are collectively owed some $2 million, but as it is are unlikely to see more than 20 cents in the dollar,” he said.

“This row over liquidators means that even that money could disappear in professional fees bills, and that’s totally unacceptable.”

Mr Little said that the union had a great deal of sympathy for other creditors and would support moves for an investigation that did not put workers’ money at risk.

“Don’t forget that Origin Pacific workers have lost their livelihoods and can’t afford to lose any more,” he said.

“Other creditors like airport companies are not in the same position, and we urge them to think very carefully about what they are doing.”

Mr Little said that it was surprising that the current liquidators seemed so reluctant to call a meeting of creditors when clearly there were questions that should be answered.

Creditors have until 4pm this Friday to vote on whether to change liquidators.

ENDS

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