Opal launches ‘unreasonable’ lockout against 300 workers covered by CFMEU agreement

Over 300 workers operating out of the Maryvale paper mill in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley have been hit with an unpaid indefinite lockout.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has hit out against one of Australia’s largest paper and packaging companies, Opal Australian Paper, for its decision to implement an indefinite lockout of its production employees – leaving around 300 staff members without work.

According to a media statement by the company, the previous protected industrial action taken and upcoming notified action by the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) prompted the move towards an indefinite lockout.

“Unfortunately, given the protected industrial action taken and upcoming notified action by the CFMEU, which includes planned rolling shutdowns of the mill’s infrastructure, we cannot operate our paper production facilities,” said the statement.

“We … have been forced to make the decision under the Fair Work Act to undertake a legal lockout of our production team members covered by the CFMEU agreement.”

The mill itself resides as one of the largest employers in the Latrobe Valley area, which is responsible for manufacturing brown paper and board to supply Opal’s packaging division.

This action was deemed “extraordinarily harsh” by the ACTU, as it was originally a response to just seven workers taking one stop work action – the first of any action in over 20 years.

“Locking out more than 300 workers indefinitely without pay is unfair and unreasonable,” said ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

“It hurts these workers, their families, and the whole community. The union movement calls on Opal to end this disproportionate action and negotiate a fair deal with their Maryvale mill workers.”

Bargaining between the CFMEU manufacturing division members and the company has been ongoing since October 2024 – however, negotiations stalled over Opal’s demands to reduce both wages and working conditions, according to the union.

The mill has claimed that due to various issues, significant and continued financial impacts have created challenges.

“The Maryvale mill’s operations have been severely impacted by the loss of wood supply from VicForests and the subsequent end to white paper manufacturing,” said the statement.

“As a result, the site has lost almost half of its production volumes and suffered significant and continued financial impacts, and the new enterprise agreement obviously needs to reflect these significant changes.”

“The terms and conditions that were appropriate many years ago in previous enterprise agreements are not relevant to the mill’s operations today, nor do they reflect the way Australian paper mills operate in 2025.”

Opal is calling for a “fair” and “reasonable” enterprise agreement that takes into account the contemporary issues that are affecting the mill. McManus has boiled this down to merely another example of “corporate greed”.

“Working people across Australia are fed up with this sort of corporate greed. If Opal continues down this track, they will further damage their reputation and erode public trust.”

Back in 2016, union members employed at the mill witnessed difficult periods, during which the workers agreed to a 5 per cent pay cut and a resetting of wages to secure the future of the mill. Now, instead of repaying the favour, the union believes the multinational company’s management is focused on removing a “raft” of workplace rights and pay.

“When a multinational attempts to crush a workforce and a community, the union movement of Australia will respond. We know these workers made personal sacrifices to keep the paper mill moving during difficult times, and now they are being punished by the company for simply wanting their wages and conditions to be protected,” said McManus.

“The union movement is committed to supporting these workers until this situation is resolved.”