Jacob’s Creek and St Hugo winery workers to strike for better conditions

Workers from major wine brands are striking this afternoon amid efforts to negotiate a fair workplace agreement.

More than 120 Jacob’s Creek and St Hugo winery workers are walking off the job for four hours on Wednesday afternoon as part of a fight for job security and a pay rise.

The strike comes after French drinks giant Pernod Ricard made the decision to sell its global wine division to Australian Wine Holdco Limited - owners of Accolade Wines - which includes labels Jacob’s Creek, St Hugo, Orlando and George Wyndham.

The United Workers union said the move comes as workers negotiate their next workplace agreement and has created uncertainty about the deal’s impact on the employees amid a cost-of-living crisis.

The union claims Pernod Ricard is using the move “to force a short-term, low-wage deal on workers who are in the middle of enterprise bargaining”.

Jacob's Creek vineyard. Picture: Supplied

The producer made a global net profit of $5.6 billion in the last year while the global chief executive received a $3.7 million paycheck in 2022, according to the union.

Meanwhile, workers have only seen their wages rise 7 percent while over the past three years despite CPI growing by nearly 16 percent.

UWU National Secretary Tim Kennedy called for a fair deal.

“I’m tasting key notes of corporate greed,” Mr Kennedy said.

“Profits have been driven by rising prices, yet winery workers haven’t been given a comparable pay rise.

“Whilst the CEO at Pernod Ricard sits on an eye-watering salary, workers are struggling to pay their bills.”

Mr Kennedy said “these winery jobs sustain our regional communities. For every dollar that is earned, it goes right back into the local community”.

A Pernod Ricard spokesperson said “we truly believe that we have provided a fair and reasonable offer to our employees and are disappointed that we have been unable to reach an agreement at this stage.”

The spokesperson said the strike action will not affect production and “will have no material impact on our business”.