| What: | Food and beverage workers strike against multi-billion dollar Pepsico’s unfair offer |
| Where: | 553-567 South Road, Regency Park, SA 5010, Australia |
| When: | Friday 9 May at 7:00am |
| Who: | UWU lead organiser Imogen Barker (available for interview on site at 10am) and striking PepsiCo workers |
Over 150 hard-working South Australians who create the snacks South Australians love are being forced into strike action in the form of 4-hour stoppages after being slapped in the face by food giant PepsiCo’s insulting pay offer.
While PepsiCo boasts about “creating more smiles with every sip and every bite,” their South Australian workers are struggling to put food on their own tables, earning a shocking 12% less than their Queensland counterparts for making identical products sold at identical prices.
In the agreement that expired in February, South Australian workers received 2.6 per cent pay increases over three years totalling 7.8 per cent. But over the last three years annual inflation in Adelaide has totalled 15.9 per cent meaning workers’ real wages have fallen behind by more than 8 per cent.
The brutal reality is PepsiCo made $2 billion in revenue and $106 million in profits in 2023 alone. Yet they refuse to share even crumbs with the very people who make their success possible.
The inequality is staggering. A level 3 worker would need to work for 740 YEARS to earn what global CEO Ramon Laguarta pockets in a single year ($49.3 million).
“There is plenty of spare change and PepsiCo can afford to do the right thing, but they’re choosing not to,” said United Workers Union Director of Food & Beverage Mel Gatfield.
“The workers simply want to keep their heads above water as they work hard. Same rate, each state – is that really too much to ask from a billion-dollar global empire?”
“PepsiCo promise to be ‘Faster, Stronger and Better’ – but for whom? Certainly not for the Australian workers being crushed under their corporate boot while executives enjoy obscene wealth.”
“PepsiCo’s greed isn’t just hurting its workers – it’s damaging the entire South Australian economy. These 150 workers spend their hard-earned wages in local shops, cafes, and businesses across Adelaide and beyond. With their pay already 12% below their interstate colleagues, every dollar matters.”
“You can’t claim to make ‘the People’s Chip’, when undercutting mums, dads, brothers, and sisters.”
IUF Asia Pacific* Regional Secretary Hidayat Greenfield didn’t mince words.
“PepsiCo is squeezing every cent from workers while refusing to offer a fair deal.
“These are the very people who built this billion-dollar company’s success.
“The workers are sending a clear message to PepsiCo: enough is enough.”
United Workers Union members begin the 4-hour stoppages on Thursday 8 May at 4:30pm. They stand united against corporate greed, fighting not just for fair pay, but for basic dignity and respect.
* The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tourism, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations Asia-Pacific is an international federation of trade unions representing workers in industries including the manufacture of food and beverages.