UNIONS vowed yesterday to widen the dispute crippling the vehicle industry to include the whole manufacturing industry, as Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott accused the manufacturing workers union of “industrial and economic treason”.

Strikers at Tristar, the NSW steering components manufacturer that supplies all four Australian car-makers, voted to stay out until at least Monday, causing a chain reaction that the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says threatens 50,000 jobs.

Industrial Relations Commissioner Bob Redmond has deferred until Monday his decision on an application to order the Tristar employees back to work, saying decisions made in haste led to further litigation.

Mitsubishi told its 2500 production workers not to come in this morning and the plant will remain closed for up to a week because of the shortage of parts. Holden has had 4000 workers on standby since Tuesday, and Ford will close some operations today, with 5000 workers facing disruption.

Toyota has enough parts to last until early next week.

But the flow-on effect of the large car-makers grinding to a halt will affect hundreds of other component suppliers, many of which face industrial demands of their own.

The dispute widened as workers at Monroe Australia, which supplies shock absorbers, voted to strike for 24 hours in support of theclaim.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Doug Cameron said the battle over Manusafe, an industry trust fund to protect workers’ entitlements, was a “fundamental position” for the union.

“There is not a better issue for the AMWU to support members on … we will bat on and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members to ensure that their entitlements are protected,” Mr Cameron said.

Assistant secretary Dave Oliver said 600 industrial agreements were due for renegotiation over the next six weeks and the AMWU would be pushing for those employers to sign up to Manusafe.

Employer representative the Australian Industry Group says its members were determined not to sign up.

John Howard slammed the union as he left for Japan yesterday to meet with Mitsubishi and discuss the future of its Adelaide factory.

“It’s really appalling timing and it shows an insensitivity towards the need to avoid giving any impression … of any kind of disruption or instability in the industry in Australia,” he said.

Mr Abbott accused the union of a “crime against the national interest”.

“To focus on this manufacturer in this way, at a moment of great delicacy for the future of a major motor manufacturer, is little short of industrial and economic treason.”

He said the union was embarking on illegal pattern bargaining and he would take advice on whether the Government should shut thecampaign down with a challenge in the Industrial Relations Commission.