Workers at Ringwood Cadbury factory threaten Easter choc supply

ACTION from 12 key workers at Ringwood’s Cadbury plant could shut down the supply of Dairy Milks, Roses and Freddos to about half of Australia’s population over Easter, a union has warned.

The maintenance workers want to keep the right to turn down weekend shifts. Picture: Jason Edwards.

TWELVE maintenance workers at Ringwood’s Cadbury plant could stop the supply of chocolate to about half of Australia for Easter because of a rostering dispute, a union claims.

The maintenance workers make up just 1.5 per cent of the plant’s 800 employees.

They have started short stop-work action but are threatening to escalate it, with the Electrical Trades Union claiming it could “endanger” the supply of chocolates to Australia’s entire eastern seaboard.

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But Mondelez International, which runs the factory, is adamant the industrial action would not interrupt its supply.

The workers are responsible for Cadbury’s production equipment and help deliver orders of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Roses and Freddo chocolates for the Christmas and Easter peak seasons.

The union said the dispute boiled down to the company’s proposed roster changes which would force the employees into permanent shifts at night and on weekends for less money.

“Currently the 12 workers share the worst shifts through a rotating roster, and have the option to turn down extra work at weekends to spend time with their families,” the union said in a statement.

“Cadbury’s permanent roster would end both.”

Mondelez spokeswoman Lainie Kirk denied the company was planning to move the electricians to a permanent fixed night or weekend roster.

“What this (agreement) does seek is to maintain existing flexibility and responsiveness to modern manufacturing practices,” she said.

“Electricians working with the company already benefit from extremely generous working

conditions and wages that far exceed award standards.

“There is nothing in the proposed (agreement) that changes this.”

It claimed the company had forced workers to sign a gag order to stop them from speaking out and was threatening to terminate the enterprise bargaining agreement if it could not get its way with the roster changes.

ETU Victoria state secretary Troy Gray said the union was considering putting a call out for a boycott on Cadbury chocolates if the issue was not resolved soon.

“Cadbury is the latest employer to begin to behave very unwisely in a rush of blood to the head,” Mr Gray said.

“They’re feeling emboldened. They’re feeling bullish. But they better recognise that any attempt to terminate an agreement, cut our members’ pay or ruin our members’ lives through these dehumanising rosters will result in a mighty backlash from Australians.

“Cadbury will find that Australians can go without the bitter taste of this particular chocolate brand if the company keeps heading down this path.”