Hundreds of Alcoa workers in Kwinana and Pinjarra, after 20 months of protracted negotiations, are now off the job as they rally to protect their jobs and maintain their current working conditions.

The threat to terminate these workers’ EBA is a threat on a loyal workforce and a threat on the local Kwinana and Pinjarra communities that support Alcoa’s operations.

Scrapping workplace conditions means that hundreds of families will face uncertain rosters and cuts in wages after decades of loyalty and despite no changes in workplace productivity.

Alcoa is a big employer and is a steadfast contributor to local communities and Western Australia. People have been proud to work there.

There has been an unfair shift at the bargaining table when workers face their long-held and hard-fought-for agreements being torn up instead of both sides coming to a resolution through negotiation.

Enterprise agreements should not be terminated as a means to cut pay and conditions. Workers deserve to negotiate on a level playing field without the fear of having to start from scratch when it comes to their workplace conditions.