Paragon workers back, as deal is struck

Up to 110 Paragon employees will resume work over the course of this week, with 18 of these employees to be used in Moore’s warehousing operations. A three-week roster has been drawn up for employees while administrator Hall Chadwick continues its search for a buyer.

Hall Chadwick issued a statement on Friday evening saying that “the administrators have reached agreement with the company’s major customer”.

The statement had also said that the stand-down would be extended until Tuesday 30 March, but that the “agreement contemplates a resumption of the trading operations of the company effective Monday 29 March”.

That measure was realised today, the union confirmed to ProPrint. Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) representative Leigh Diehm said a majority of its members would be returning to work.

“It’s not the ultimate result, but it is a good result,” he said.

Diehm said the AMWU would begin using union funds to pay those of its members that have not been rostered to return to work over the next three weeks.

ProPrint revealed on Friday 26 March that a deal between Hall Chadwick and Moore was expected to be reached later that day.

The AMWU last week became involved in negotiations between Hall Chadwick and Paragon customer and former owner Moore Business Solutions on how to maintain Paragon as a going concern while Hall Chadwick looked for a buyer for the business.

However, the initial 48-hour stand-down, which began last Wednesday 17 March, has been extended four times with Hall Chadwick and Moore unable to reach an agreement.

Paragon Printing entered administration earlier this month, with administrators revealing that roughly $10m is owed to creditors and another $10m owed to Paragon employees.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required

Advertisement

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Advertisement