General News
20 October, 2023
Fonterra workers to strike
DAIRY workers across Victoria – including Fonterra Cobden began industrial action on Wednesday.
DAIRY workers across Victoria – including Fonterra Cobden began industrial action on Wednesday.
Off the back of strong Protected Action Ballot results in late September, delegates from 12 sites across three major companies — Saputo, Fonterra, and Peters —voted to endorse industrial action.
The industrial action was in direct response to the failure of some of the world’s largest dairy companies to offer fair wage increases and improve working conditions in the face of rising cost of living, according to National secretary of the United Workers Union Tim Kennedy.
“Workers don’t make this decision lightly,” he said.
“Dairy workers have been grinding day in and day out, especially during the pandemic, where some sites agreed to accept wage offers as low as 1.5 as a favour to the company.
“Now, as the cost of living soars, these workers are saying enough is enough.
“They’re not even asking for a wage increase that matches inflation, just five per cent or six per cent that gets them a little closer to being able to keep up with skyrocketing costs.”
Workers are also asking for personal leave which recognises they work 12-hour shifts and community service leave so that regional workers can help fight the fires and floods that are becoming more regular during the climate emergency facing Australia.
Over the last year, the price of milk has risen dramatically, providing an increase to farmers’ income that the union has welcomed, as well as boosting processors’ profits.
However, United Workers Union said the workers who actually process the milk have not been given any share of the profits.
Fonterra Australia supply chain and operations director Rob Howell said while they were disappointed the United Workers’ Union has encouraged “some of our people to take industrial action but respect their right to do so”.
“For a number of months, Fonterra has been engaged in good faith negotiations with the union,” he said.
“We have a fair and reasonable offer on the table of a minimum 10.5 per cent salary increase over three years plus more leave options and greater protections for our workers.
“Our people covered by this agreement are paid significantly higher than the award, and we were committed to our people during COVID-19 when we provided them with pay increases of 2.5 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 2.75 per cent in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.”
Mr Howell said Fonterra has mobilised a cross-company team to ensure there are minimal disruptions as a result of this industrial action.
“Our farmers will continue milking, and we will be doing everything we can to ensure that their precious, perishable milk can be collected and not wasted,” he said.
“For the 48-hours of the industrial action, we expect that we will be able to continue milk collection. We will be working closely with our farmers to keep them updated if the situation were to change.”
Mr Howell said Fonterra has also executed its business contingency plans, which will mean processing will need to pause during the industrial action.
“However we have worked with our customers to provide good stocks of fresh milk in advance. We also have good inventory levels of butter and cheese to enable supply to continue based on current demand levels,” he said.
“We are confident that the supply of our dairy products will continue during the industrial action and will be working closely with our customers to keep them updated.
“Our sincere thanks go to our dedicated team who will be taking on additional responsibilities during this time. Their commitment to our customers and our business is greatly appreciated.”
Over the past week, union mass meetings in towns like Cobden and Cobram have seen 1400 members overwhelmingly voting to strike this week.
“Dairy workers have been dedicated, especially during the pandemic, with some even agreeing to wage offers as low as 1.5 per cent to support their companies,” Mr Kennedy said.
“But with the soaring cost-of-living, they believe it’s time for change.”
Mr Kennedy said the strike focused on extremely profitable dairy companies operating in regional areas.
“This is more than a wage tug-of-war; it’s about safeguarding the heartbeat of our regional communities,” he said.
A United Workers Union survey involving over 1300 dairy workers revealed only 25 per cent would remain in their community if they lost their jobs at the dairy plant.
“This is more than a tug-of-war over wages; it’s a fight for the future of our regional communities,” Mr Kennedy said.
“Every dollar these workers earn goes right back into the local economy.”