The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten today welcomed news that around 90 per cent of the 1400 plumbers stood down in the wake of the collapse of the Hastie Group will shortly return to work.

The Minister joined members of the Plumbers’ Union and Hastie Group’s administrator PPB for the announcement in Melbourne this morning.

“This is a great result for the affected Hastie workers and their families,” the Minister said.

“I want to extend my congratulations to the union, the administrator and the workers and their families for sticking by each other and working together to get these plumbers back to work.”

Today’s announcement means 600 plumbers in Victoria, 300 in NSW, 250 in Queensland and 100 in South Australia will soon return to work.

“These plumbers will be able to go home to their families tonight and tell them that the anxiety is over and that there will be a pay cheque coming through once again.”

Despite this good news, there are workers affected by the collapse of Hastie Group who unfortunately have not been able to return to work.

The Government is acutely aware of the stress that losing a job places on these family budgets.

That’s why our General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) scheme operates to protect employees’ entitlements in these situations.

Affected workers may be eligible to receive assistance under GEERS for a range of employee entitlements.

All workers who have regrettably lost their job are entitled to employment support through Job Services Australia.

These are tailored services which cater to individual needs and help people find new jobs as soon as possible.

This includes support with everything from preparing résumés and job applications, to honing interview skills and providing career advice.

Any workers who are facing financial difficulties following their redundancy should also talk to Centrelink Financial Information Services Officers who can provide free, unbiased financial information about their redundancy package and other Government services. 

Redundant workers aged 45 and over also have access to free, professional career counselling through the Experience+ Career Advice service.

The Career Advisers can help mature-age workers identify their transferrable skills and explore career options.