A company supplying shock absorbers to car makers had secretly imposed a "waterfront-style" corporate restructure to avoid paying almost $4 million in workers' entitlements, a tribunal has been told.
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission heard that Suspension Components, a firm under administration, had last year been stripped of its plant, machinery and land. These assets had been sold to other branches of the company.
Counsel for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, Josh Bornstein, alleged that the company had made "factoring" arrangements to cover its debts, which had the effect of substituting its bankers for its employees as preferred creditors should the company slide into liquidation.
