Metaltec workers who lost $6.5 million when their company went into administration without money to pay entitlements, gathered outside the house of former owner, Peter Gillen, on the weekend to protest.

The sixty workers and AMWU officials, who organised a barbecue, were welcomed by Gillen’s neighbours in the bayside suburb of Brighton.

“It’s not often that we get a warm reception by neighbours when we take this kind of action. They told us we weren’t the only ones he’d put offside,” said AMWU Assistant National Secretary Glenn Thompson.

Eighty workers were affected by Gillen’s mismanagement, including John Orchard who, after 46 years with the company, was looking forward to retirement.

“I can forget all about that now. Without my entitlements, I’ll have to find another job since I was counting on that money.”

Mr Orchard was informed that he was out of work and had lost his entitlements by text message sent to him by a workmate.

“I was on leave and management didn’t even have the decency to let me know properly.”

AMWU organiser Greg Warren said Mr Orchard like many of the workers at Metaltec were bitterly disappointed by the company’s actions.

“There was some understanding that things were not great, but the workers had no idea that they were this bad. More managers were being employed and money was spent on improvements in the place.

“There was also this feeling that because a number of workers had shown many years of loyalty to the company, they would be looked after,” he said.

Glenn Thompson said this latest case simply strengthened the union’s argument for laws to protect workers’ entitlements.

“The government must act now to amend corporations law to make sure workers entitlements are paid before secured creditors in insolvency situations.

“The government redundancy scheme (GEERS) also needs to be changed so that it offers 100% universal protection of all entitlements.”

The AMWU has called for the strengthening of directors’ responsibilities by requiring earlier action by company directors whose companies are likely to be insolvent and impose sanctions on directors who have avoided their responsibilities or trades while insolvent.

Hoffman Engineering have bought the business and forty of the eighty workers have been re-employed.

Mr Warren said this was good news for those workers, but the work to assist everyone continues.

“There is a little bit of money that was put aside and we’re in there arguing that it should go to the workers.”

Mr Orchard says workers everywhere need to be vigilant about their entitlements.

“Accepting the boss’s word for it just isn’t good enough.”