Milk giant Saputo Dairy flies in international workers amid strike for mainland pay parity

Dairy workers have slammed the Canadian milk giant Saputo Dairy’s move to fly in international workers as “anti-Tasmanian” as the ongoing pay parity dispute worsens.

Tasmanian dairy workers have slammed milk monolith Saputo Dairy’s move to fly in international workers amid an ongoing strike for mainland pay parity.

The unions representing striking workers say the company had resorted to “extreme tactics” to maintain the Burnie site as maintenance workers continue to campaign for mainland pay rates.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union organiser Michael Wickham said the Canadian milk giant’s latest move reinforces the unfair treatment of Tasmanian workers.

“It’s bad enough that the company is trying to make disparity worse with a cut to real wages, only offering 4.5 per cent, but now the company is spending more money to continue this dispute with scab labour than it would cost to do the right and fair thing,” Mr Wickham said.

“Not only have the company flown workers in from Germany and offering blank cheques to local companies to try and cover the strike, they are employing gutter tactics.”

Canadian dairy giant Saputo has brought in workers from Germany amid an industrial dispute at it’s Burnie plant. Picture: AP

Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union state secretary Michael Anderson said that the

company had sent “propaganda” about negotiations by express post to the home addresses of striking workers, a move he called “anti-Tasmanian”.

“The North-West Coast is a small community and deserves better from a multinational company that has depressed wages of working families for years, like many other big employers. But Saputo’s step to send propaganda by express post to try and cause problems at home for families already under the pressure of depressed wages and dealing with a strike is a new low. It’s an old, dirty, and failed union-busting tactic,” Mr Anderson said.

“Similarly, local contractors have been offered work at the site at any cost, which has only served to fire up the workers more for what’s fair.”

Mr Anderson said that following a scathing letter from both unions, Saputo had sought a meeting with the national union bodies next Friday in Sydney but has yet to provide any new information to local union branches or workers.

“Undermining the efforts of striking workers to lift the wages of all tradespeople in an area is a low act, which will never be forgiven by unions or their members. There’s nothing lower than scabbing,” he said.

Saputo Dairy Australia operations and supply chain director Gerard Lourey said the company had made multiple requests since mid-May to schedule a bargaining meeting with state unions.

“Saputo Dairy Australia is continuing to engage with our valued maintenance workers at Burnie and we remain committed to progressing negotiations in good faith,” Mr Lourey said.
“We want to resolve outstanding items with our employees and their representatives in a fair and amicable manner, and we are waiting for state unions to come back to the bargaining table.”