FOUR hundred workers from Ford’s Broadmeadows plant have been stood down without pay and more than 2500 others from the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants may face the same fate from today (Tuesday 24 April).

The workers were suspended after Geelong parts supplier Coghlan and Russell Engineering went into receivership almost two weeks ago.

Ford spokesperson Sinead McAlary said the company had kept workers on the job as long as possible since the trouble began at Coghlan and Russell, by re-working their production schedule around a lack of 37 supplied parts.

Ms McAlary said Ford, along with another major customer, Delphi, had offered financial help to the part maker to provide a month’s cover for thier employees’ salaries.

“That proposal was basically to get them (Coghlan and Russell) back to work and allow the administrators time to investigate the business and determine the best way forward for the company,’ Ms McAlary said.

The proposal was initially rejected by administrators and employees but after an emergency meeting last Friday afternoon, Ms McAlary said administrators had accepted but workers were still undecided. “We have had to stand down engine plant employees because we’re essentially totally out of the parts they need,” Ms McAlary said last Friday.

Ms McAlary said engine plant employees had the opportunity to use their annual leave entitlements to cover their time off work, which she added was still unknown.

State secretary vehicle division of Australian Metal Workers Union (AMWU) Paul Difelice said Ford’s rescue offer, worth about $1 million, was initially rejected by Coghlan and Russell because workers sought a larger amount in entitlements, which Ford and Delphi said was not their responsibility to pay.

Ford has had a tumultuous past year with 2000 employees stood down for two days on reduced pay last July when workers at car parts company Huon Corporation walked off the job in support of a fellow employee. And in December last year, 640 jobs were axed across the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants due to a production slash of under-selling Falcon and Territory vehicles.

Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou said the car manufacturing industry needed to focus on developing smaller, more economical cars, which Australians are now buying.

She said Labor’s $500 million Green Car Innovation Fund would generate $2 billion in investment to secure jobs in the local automotive industry and assist with the manufacture of low-emission vehicles.