Freehills - the legal firm that helped write the Federal Government's new IR laws - have advised the company that the Federal Government's IR laws actually prohibit the workers being paid for the 38 hours of work they did last week. Meeting with the workers at the Heinemann factory in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Mulgrave this morning, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said; "This is a clear example of the harsh punishment being dealt out to workers under the Federal Government's IR laws. Around 56 workers, members of the Electrical Trades Union, have not been paid for a week's work after they refused to do extra overtime in support of their enterprise bargaining campaign. Some of these workers earn only $16 an hour and yet it now appears that under the Government's IR laws, they cannot place a simple overtime ban to put pressure on the company for a better deal to protect their entitlements." "These men have worked for five days for no pay - does the Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews think that this is fair?" said Ms Burrow. Ms Burrow urged the company to pay the workers and return to the bargaining table. Heinemann Australia manufactures and distributes circuit breakers and circuit breaker switchboards. MORE INFORMATION: Download ETU Media Release Below