Hundreds of paper mill production staff will return to work after a tense pay dispute locked them out of their workplace for more than a month.
Opal Australian Paper indefinitely stood-down more than 300 workers without pay from the Latrobe Valley's Maryvale mill after seven production staff took a protected six-hour stoppage in January.
Negotiations hit a standstill over Opal's plans to extend ordinary work week hours from 35 to 38 in a rolling roster that would include weekend work.
The CFMEU's manufacturing branch argued it would mean more work for less pay, due to understaffing and the need for recognised overtime.
It was the mill's first enterprise bargaining process since the native logging ban was enacted, a change that quickened Opal's transition from white paper production into brown paper and packaging in 2024.
Maryvale had produced stationery and office supplies for the previous 85 years.
Opal said the loss of wood supply from state-owned VicForests and the end of white paper manufacturing severely impacted the mill's operations.
The shift from white paper led to about 200 redundancies, came after eight years of pay cuts, wage freezes and reclassifications workers had accepted to keep the mill afloat.
On Monday, Opal announced the lock out was over after reaching an in-principle agreement with workers and their union.
"Opal negotiated in good faith for an enterprise agreement that is fair and appropriate to the mill's current operations," it said in a statement.
"Opal is focused on the future of the mill, which remains an important asset for our growth as a major manufacturer of quality cardboard packaging products in a competitive market."
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said union members stood firm in the face of extreme and unfair behaviour of their employers who deprived them of their income for over a month.
"Because of their resoluteness they have won," Ms McManus said.
"Cleary this multinational underestimated these union members and their community."
