The planned industrial action over a wage claim at Toyota Australia’s Altona manufacturing plant and Toyota Parts Centres in Melbourne and Sydney will undermine the stability and reliability of its Australian vehicle manufacturing operations, the car manufacturer said today.

Toyota President and Chief Executive Officer Max Yasuda said: “The stoppages will cause significant short term pain and have long term consequences for suppliers, dealers and customers.

More than 3,300 employees and up to 11,000 supplier employees and their families will be impacted.”

The company maintains that its wage increase proposal of 11 percent over 39 months is fair and reasonable and has varied the payment timings in response to concerns raised by employees.

The latest offer has not been rejected or accepted by the unions.

“We have shown flexibility in seeking an agreement. The company expects that an agreement should be reached without the need to take industrial action. We just want to maintain and grow our business and offer job security for employees,” Mr Yasuda said.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the Communications (AMWU), Electrical,
Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union (ETU) of Australia’s members undertook a 24 hour stoppage on 2 September 2011 and notified Toyota Australia they would undertake protected industrial action every Thursday and Friday for three weeks (8,9,15,16 22 and 23 September 2011) and ban working overtime effective from 8 September 2011.

Fair Work Australia granted an interim order suspending industrial action for 8 and 9 September 2011. However, Fair Work Australia has dismissed the company’s application for suspension or termination of future notified industrial action.

The Altona plant produces the 4 cylinder Camry, Hybrid Camry, and 6-cylinder Aurion models. More than 3300 employees build 559 cars per day, for domestic and export customers. Toyota Australia produced more that 119,000 vehicles in 2010.