United Workers Union not playing chicken with Inghams strike threat

More than 1000 workers at Australia’s largest poultry producer, Inghams, will strike for 24 hours on Friday in pursuit of an 18 per cent pay claim.

United Workers Union national secretary Tim Kennedy.

More than 1000 workers at Australia’s largest poultry producer, Inghams, will strike for 24 hours on Friday in pursuit of an 18 per cent pay claim, with their union warning that ongoing industrial action will have a “big impact” on chicken supplies.

The United Workers Union said Inghams, whose commercial partners include Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, KFC, McDonald’s and Subway, could afford the three annual 6 per cent pay rises because it had reaped huge profits after ­hitting customers with chicken price increases.

Inghams warned in August that the high cost of feed and energy could result in another consumer price rise for chicken, which already had gone up by 12 per cent last year.

UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said more industrial ­action would be taken if the dispute was not resolved, while the company declined to comment on any impact the industrial action in Western Australia and South ­Australia would have on chicken supplies.

Mr Kennedy said the industrial action would impact the company’s operations as well as supply chain participants, including farmers, due to the just-in-time industrial process.

“(If the action keeps going), most definitely it will have a big impact on supplies. Even the stoppages over Friday are going to have an impact on supplies. That’s a fact,” he said.

“If we don’t reach an agreement and the dispute continues, it’s going to have a significant impact on supply.”

Inghams declined to provide a detailed response to the union claims, saying only, through a spokesperson, that “discussions are continuing”.

While the union has sought a 6 per cent increase annually for the life of the new three-year agreement, it says that the company has offered increases to South Australian employees of 3.9 per cent in the first year and 3.5 per cent in the second and third years.

Ingham employees in Western Australia have been offered increases of 3.85 per cent, 3.45 per cent and 3.5 per cent.

The union says many of the workers earn about $25 an hour and were seeking an extra $1.50 an hour.

Mr Kennedy said the union was also seeking the right for casuals to convert to permanent employment after six months but the company has rejected the claim.

Inghams last month reported that revenue for fiscal 2023 rose 12.2 per cent to $3.04bn.

Net profit lifted 72 per cent to $60.4m.

Mr Kennedy said Inghams had been reaping huge profits on the back of chicken price increases while refusing to offer workers a pay rise in keeping with cost-of-living increases.

He released toolbox question and answer notices that show Inghams told workers the company could legally lock them out if they went on strike.

“Can Inghams take industrial action?” it asked.

“Yes, if union members take protected action, Ingham’s is allowed to lock them out.

“This means they will not be ­allowed to work and they will not be paid for as many additional days as they choose.”

A second document, which the union said was distributed among workers, set out detailed costings about the impact of industrial ­action on them, saying they would suffer a net loss of $784.

“Instead of dipping into their deep pockets, these Inghams managers have opted for obfuscation and ­intimidation,” Mr Kennedy said.

“It’s really quite atrocious behaviour when you consider that these are the very workers who have contributed to their huge profits by showing up every day, during pandemics, in the middle of the night, on public holidays, doing a less-than-­glamorous job to make sure that Australians have protein on their plates.”