A Matter Of Trust: Ban May Be Lifted

Newcastle Herald

Friday March 10, 2000

By ANDREW KELLY

SACKED workers will consider today relaxing a ban on the removal of assets from the defunct National Textiles factory after a trust was established to protect a portion of their unpaid entitlements.

The jobs of 80 Queensland textiles workers were threatened earlier this week when trade unionists refused to release $100,000 worth of fireproof cotton drill from the Rutherford site.

The fabric was paid for in advance by Gympie-based clothing manufacturer Drummond and Kindred but has not been delivered.

The Textiles Clothing and Footwear Union have refused to allow the fabric to be removed from the site because of fears last month's deal guaranteeing sacked workers their full $11million in entitlements was about to fall through.

Union spokesman Steve Davies said workers wanted a guarantee from National Textiles administrator John Star that the $100,000 would be used to pay workers entitlements.

`I am more optimistic about the deal succeeding than I was a few days ago but to be sure we want the $100,000 put in a trust,' Mr Davies said.

Mr Star yesterday agreed to set up the trust.

`The money will not be able to be withdrawn without the signatures of my solicitor and Mr Davies,' Mr Star said.

`From my point of view I hope they will now release the material so the other people's jobs are not in jeopardy,' he said.

Mr Davies said a mass meeting has been called for 10am today outside National Textiles.

`I will be recommending to members that they lift the ban, now that the trust fund is up,' he said.

A deed of arrangement between creditors of the collapsed business is due to be signed on Monday, paving the way for the sale of National Textiles' assets to Victorian-based Bruck Textiles.