Hundreds of workers who lost millions of dollars in redundancy, superannuaction and other payments when their companies were put into administration will rally outside the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) office in Melbourne on Friday 30th April at 1pm.

The workers, who are represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), are demanding the corporate regulator prosecute directors who allow their companies to collapse without the money to pay wages, superannuation and redundancy entitlements.

AMWU Victorian Secretary Steve Dargavel said the rally at ASIC is part of the AMWU’s campaign to change redundancy and insolvency laws and seek justice for devastated workers and their communities.

“In all these companies workers have put in decades of service only to see their entitlements lost. 100% of workers’ entitlements should be recovered. ASIC must start holding the Directors to account,” he said.

The protest will include workers from Paragon Printing Ltd in Wodonga, who faced losing their jobs and over $9 million in employee entitlements last month.

The Director of Paragon Printing Ltd, Amir Hyster, fled overseas the day after placing the company in administration.

Hundreds of other workers have faced the same situation in the last 12 months at Forgecast Forgings in Mitchem, ACL Bearings in Tasmania, Metaltec in Melbourne, and DSI – which is also based in Albury-Wodonga.

The AMWU is calling on the Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, to strengthen ASIC’s powers to investigate cases of corporate misconduct and to create a national system that protects workers entitlements in full.