Workers at Pfizer’s pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Bentley will down tools for 24 hours in protest of the company’s substandard offer.
United Workers Union (UWU) members have begun industrial action following the USA-based company’s refusal to consider a wage increase in line with the cost-of-living.
Pfizer has offered a 12 percent increase over three years, while members are pursuing an 18 percent increase over the same period, pointing to the US$25 billion profit the pharmaceutical company reported last financial year.
The pharmaceutical giant also plans to shutter the Bentley plant in 2024, which would leave the more than 100 advanced manufacturing workers in limbo as a new buyer of the plant has not been secured.
Despite Pfizer’s planned exit from the market, the company was refusing to guarantee redundancies paid on average hours worked, which could potentially leave all workers worse off.
United Workers Union Allied Coordinator Louise Dillon said it was unconscionable that huge multi-nationals like Pfizer were keen on short-changing the workers who had helped generate their profits.
“Pfizer’s revenues have doubled in two years, largely on the back of the world’s taxpayers who forked out to have the COVID-19 vaccine distributed in their respective countries.”
“Australians contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Pfizer’s profit margins but the company is insistent on squeezing every single dollar, even if it means screwing workers out of a fair pay deal.
“It really is unbelievable that on one hand Pfizer tell us they couldn’t possibly consider a $1.60 pay rise while shovelling out billions to wealthy shareholders across the planet. Greed, it’s a pretty insidious disease for which there seems to be no cure.”
UWU members from the plant reserve the right to take indefinite action in the event Pfizer refuses to return to the bargaining table with a fair offer.
ENDS
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