| What: | Fonterra dairy workers take strike action over Fonterra’s refusal to provide a secure future for workers as company sale looms | |
| When: | Thursday 4 September, Friday 5 September: Multi-hour stop work: 1pm to 3pm and 4pm to 6pm | |
| Where: | Fonterra Bayswater: Unit 1/48 Jersey Road, Baywater VIC, 3153 | |
| Who: | United Workers Union dairy workers, United Workers Union South East Dairy Organiser Dave Harris | |
With the sale of Fonterra Australia to French dairy juggernaut Lactalis looming, dairy workers at Fonterra’s Bayswater site aren’t backing down from their fight for a secure future in the dairy industry.
United Workers Union members will walk off the job today (EDS: Thursday 4 September) and tomorrow (Friday 5 September) as the standoff over improved pay and conditions at the site intensifies.
Fonterra Australia, valued at $4 billion, has so far failed to provide an updated offer since the first walk out on August 22.
United Workers Union members are pushing for a 4-year agreement, to give workers stability across a time of uncertainty with the company’s looming sale.
Members are also fighting for an increase to the redundancy payout by 8 weeks to 60 weeks, as well as work health-and-safety improvements, including heavy-lifting equipment, a heavy lifting allowance and chemical allowance.
As it stands, Fonterra’s current offer fails to address workers concerns about insufficient redundancy payouts, and urgent work health and safety improvements needed by Bayswater workers.
The two-day strike action will see over 80 workers walk off the Baywater site in a resounding rejection of the company’s current offer.
United Workers Union members at Bayswater have reserved their right to take further protected industrial action, unless an agreement is reached.
Attributable to Neil Smith, United Workers Union National Dairy Coordinator:
“Our members at Bayswater are resolute; they want to see Fonterra Australia commit to the workers who built this company that they will provide them with a financially secure future. This means agreeing to an improved redundancy payout and addressing work health and safety concerns at the site.
“Fonterra recently said in the media that they make ‘improvements to health, safety and wellbeing procedures based on their teams’ recommendations’.
“Well, your team on the floor running the day-to-day operations of your business have been telling you for the past 6 months that it’s a work health and safety risk to be lugging 20kg of cheese, unassisted, and that they need lifting devices.
“At the end of the day, Fonterra management get to walk away with a nice company buyout and hefty bonuses, while our members are left to keep the milk flowing and butter churning. All our members are asking for is a secure future for them and their families. That is why they are taking this stand today.”