Saputo Dairy Australia workers at Burnie factory dismayed over 20 per cent pay gap between mainland counterparts

Saputo Dairy Australia (SDA) maintenance workers in Burnie, who are paid 21 per cent less than their mainland counterparts, have gone on strike, but negotiations are at a standstill.

Saputo Dairy Australia Burnie factory workers walking off the site as a guard of honour is formed by union members. Picture: Simon McGuire.

Saputo Dairy Australia (SDA) maintenance workers in Burnie, who are paid 21 per cent less than their mainland counterparts, have gone on strike, but negotiations are at a standstill.

The company has been in enterprise bargaining negotiations with the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) Tasmanian Branch on behalf of the 24 maintenance employees at the North-West factory since August 2023.

However, AMWU organiser Michael Wickham said it had not heard back from SDA for two weeks.

“For the last few years, our wages have been about 21 per cent behind,” Mr Wickham said.

“They deem that’s an old legacy around just about every industry around Tasmania, where it’s cheaper to live in this state.

Members of the AMWU and other unions outside the Saputo Diary Australia Burnie factory. Picture: Simon McGuire.

“But that’s long gone.

“The cost of living here - the cost of petrol, housing and rent - it’s all through the roof, so our dollar is worth a lot less than it used to be.”

Mr Wickham also said the workers’ skills in the Burnie factory were not valued.

“This company, along with a lot of others, don’t recognise that our skills are worth the same as on the mainland,” he said.

“Our skills are higher and the site here is more complicated in technology. Without the 21 per cent pay rise, this industrial action would continue.”

Regarding negotiations with SDA’s head office, Mr Wickham described it as “pathetic, to put it mildly”.

“We’ve been waiting now for two weeks for a response back for our latest offer we put on the table to try and close the gap,” he said.

“They haven’t even deemed it necessary to respond, which is why we’re out here today.”

Mr Wickham said the workers at the site felt let down that they were being paid less than someone on the mainland doing the same job.

“They are frustrated and disappointed. They just feel that they’re not respected in what they do.

“A number of them are looking for other jobs.

“You come to a workplace that doesn’t respect and value what you do; why do you want to stay?”

An SDA spokesperson said the company “was committed to continuing negotiations in good faith to reach an agreement for our valued maintenance workers at our Burnie manufacturing site”.

Originally published as Saputo Dairy Australia workers at Burnie factory dismayed over 20 per cent pay gap between mainland counterparts