Dairy factory workers threaten supply chain with indefinite strikes

The United Workers Union is seeking a 15 per cent pay rise over three years for dairy workers.

Dairy Workers during their 48 hour strike last week. Picture: 9News

Dairy factory workers are threatening rolling indefinite strikes, risking shortages of milk, butter, cheese, ice-cream and yoghurt days after milk companies averted a separate industrial threat by tanker drivers.

Last week, 1400 workers conducted a 48-hour stoppage across 12 Victorian sites operated by four major companies – Saputo Dairy Australia, Fonterra Australia, Peters Ice Cream and Lactalis Australia – constituting the largest dairy strike in the state in living memory.

The employees, led by the ­United Workers Union, are now vowing further indefinite industrial action from as soon as Wednesday if their demands for a 15 per cent pay rise over three years are not met.

Last week’s action stretched dairy supply chains to the point of forcing some supermarkets to ­ration milk and companies to dump tens of thousands of litres.

Concurrent action by the Transport Workers Union last week resulted in 150 milk tanker drivers forcing Saputo to agree to their demands for a pay rise.

UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said dairy workers had shown they were serious about winning a pay rise “that goes some way to address their soaring cost of living”.

“In meetings with the four major processors this week, workers expect fair offers to their reasonable demands of 5 per cent a year each year for three years, and they will not put up with being short-changed,” Mr Kennedy said. “Dairy workers want a fair share of the profits being made by these profitable companies after accepting low wages to back the companies during the pandemic.”

The union says more than 300 dairy workers at Saputo Allansford, near Warrnambool, have lodged notices allowing 24-hour stoppages on Wednesday and Thursday if a satisfactory outcome is not reached, with notices set to be lodged for the following days pending an agreement.

A further 320 workers at Fonterra sites in Cobden in Victoria’s west, Stanhope in the north and Darnum in Gippsland have endorsed taking six days of strike action – in rolling 24-hour stoppages – if there is no agreement in talks scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

Woolworths last week rationed milk ahead of the dairy strike. Picture: Supplied

The Australian understands more than 200 workers at Peters Ice Cream in Mulgrave, in Melbourne’s southeast, are likely to vote on Monday on whether to accept an offer of a 5 per cent pay rise this year, with 4.5 per cent increases over each of the following two years.

Some 560 workers at Sap­uto sites in Cobram on the NSW border, Leongatha in Gippsland, Kiewa in Victoria’s northeast and Laverton in Melbourne’s west have endorsed further industrial action if talks with the company fail on Tuesday, with workers at Lactalis Longwarry in west Gippsland in a similar situation.

The four companies have so far made formal pay offers ranging between 10 per cent and 11.25 per cent over three years.

Fonterra Australia supply chain and operations director Rob Howell said the company continued to be focused on negotiating “in good faith”.

“In our last meeting on Oct­ober 4, we scheduled our next negotiation meeting to take place on October 26,” Mr Howell said.

“We were surprised the union chose to take industrial action when our meetings and discussions were continuing. We look forward to a productive discussion … on Thursday.”

Saputo produces Cheer, Cracker Barrel, Great Ocean Road and Coles cheeses, Sungold milk, Devondale butter, YoPRO yoghurt and Danone cream cheese; Fonterra makes Western Star butter, Woolworths home brand milk and Perfect Italiano Cheese. The Peters Mulgrave factory produces ice-creams, and Lactalis Longwarry makes McDonalds soft serve.