Court orders end to Paragon Printing blockade

Angry staff from Albury Wodonga’s Paragon Printing told to stop blocking access to the company, while stand-down is extended yet again.

In a double blow to 140 workers, the Honourable Justice Cavanough of the Victorian Supreme Court ordered that staff can continue to protest, but must no longer block entry or access to the Wodonga site. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union have also been ordered away from the site.

According to Leigh Diehm, spokesman from the AMWU, this news has only made workers angrier. “Numbers have tripled. The local community has gathered around the site,” he said, adding that the number of protesters is likely to increase.

Picketing has been taking place at the Wodonga site since 19 March. Meanwhile, the stand-down, which began on Wednesday 17 March, and was expected to finish today, has now been extended until Friday 26 March.

In a statement, the administrators of the company Hall Chadwick, said that it has “taken this step to enable further commercial negotiations to progress with the company's principal customer.”

A spokesperson from Hall Chadwick added that the company “would love to put the staff back to work right now but there is no working capital in the company so it would be irresponsible.”