Union claims lockout by The West

Production workers at West Australian Newspapers were locked out indefinitely on Thursday night, their union claims.

It follows a four hour strike action this afternoon and bans on overtime work by the CFMEU, AMWU and CEPU unions.

A letter sent to union representatives signed by chief operating officer Phil O’Toole said a lock out would commence at 8:01pm on Thursday night.

Employees impacted by the lockout were directed not to attend or perform work during the lockout period.

“WAN will not make any payments for the duration of the lock out to those employees who are locked out,” the letter said. 

“However, the lock out will not affect the employees’ continuity of employment.”

It’s not clear how many workers are impacted, but Fair Work Commission records show a recent vote on the strike action had 118 workers eligible.

Mr O'Toole did not respond to a request for comment immediately prior to publication.