Tasmanian Saputo Workers Urge Nationwide Cheese Boycott Over Pay Dispute
Source: The DairyNews
Employees at Saputo Dairy Australia’s (SDA) Tasmanian processing plant are striking over wage negotiations, demanding pay parity with their Victorian counterparts who earn 21% more.
A delegation fr om Burnie, Tasmania, travelled to SDA headquarters in Melbourne on July 3 to initiate a nationwide boycott of SDA products at Coles and Woolworths stores. Represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), negotiations have been ongoing since August 2023.
The unions stated, “Last week, Saputo reneged on an in-principle agreement to address the pay disparity, leaving us no choice but to escalate the dispute and call for a national boycott of Saputo products.”
Gerard Lourey, SDA Operations and Supply Chain Director, responded, “The unions’ media release contained mischaracterisations and incorrect information. Saputo Dairy Australia remains committed to progressing negotiations in good faith to reach an agreement for our valued maintenance workers at our Burnie manufacturing site. Our bargaining team met with the union on June 28 and put forward a fair offer. Our intention is to resolve outstanding items with union representatives swiftly and amicably.”
CEPU State Secretary, Michael Anderson, argued, “Multinationals usually assume using their size and resources to ignore and wear down workers works. But it’s not working anymore, not when working families’ living standards have been smashed by the rising cost of living. Workers feel like they’ve got nothing to lose. Saputo picked this fight and brought us here today, and now we’ll see if management is keen to play games as union members boycott their brand. We’ll see if Woolies and Coles like their products boycotted.”
SDA’s brands include Cheer, Devondale, Cracker Barrel, Great Ocean Road, King Island Dairy, Liddells, Mersey Valley, South Cape, and Tasmanian Heritage.
AMWU Tasmanian Acting State Secretary, Jacob Batt, added, “A company paying workers equally for their skills is fair, but treating workers poorly because of wh ere they live is not. Since the cost-of-living explosion over the last few years, it’s not cheaper to live in Tassie and wages need to reflect that. Boycotting Saputo products will test the company to see if they will stand by their corporate statements about respect, fairness, and equity or trample all over them and their own brand.”
The unions stated, “Last week, Saputo reneged on an in-principle agreement to address the pay disparity, leaving us no choice but to escalate the dispute and call for a national boycott of Saputo products.”
Gerard Lourey, SDA Operations and Supply Chain Director, responded, “The unions’ media release contained mischaracterisations and incorrect information. Saputo Dairy Australia remains committed to progressing negotiations in good faith to reach an agreement for our valued maintenance workers at our Burnie manufacturing site. Our bargaining team met with the union on June 28 and put forward a fair offer. Our intention is to resolve outstanding items with union representatives swiftly and amicably.”
CEPU State Secretary, Michael Anderson, argued, “Multinationals usually assume using their size and resources to ignore and wear down workers works. But it’s not working anymore, not when working families’ living standards have been smashed by the rising cost of living. Workers feel like they’ve got nothing to lose. Saputo picked this fight and brought us here today, and now we’ll see if management is keen to play games as union members boycott their brand. We’ll see if Woolies and Coles like their products boycotted.”
SDA’s brands include Cheer, Devondale, Cracker Barrel, Great Ocean Road, King Island Dairy, Liddells, Mersey Valley, South Cape, and Tasmanian Heritage.
AMWU Tasmanian Acting State Secretary, Jacob Batt, added, “A company paying workers equally for their skills is fair, but treating workers poorly because of wh ere they live is not. Since the cost-of-living explosion over the last few years, it’s not cheaper to live in Tassie and wages need to reflect that. Boycotting Saputo products will test the company to see if they will stand by their corporate statements about respect, fairness, and equity or trample all over them and their own brand.”
