A contingent from dozens of striking Saputo workers from Burnie in North-West Tasmania is making the trip to the diary giant’s Australian headquarters in Melbourne, with hundreds more to join the delegation in a rally today, to launch a nationwide boycott campaign targeted at Saputo and its biggest clients in Woolworths and Coles.
The campaign spearheaded by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) are calling for workers at the processor’s Burnie site to be paid equal to their Victorian counterparts who are paid 21% more than those in Tasmania.
Saputo workers across regional Victorian sites, who have fought the multinational in previous enterprise bargaining negotiations, will be attending the rally in solidarity with their Tasmanian colleagues.
Saputo, one of the largest dairy processors in the country, has so far failed to offer Tasmanian workers a fair deal despite multiple attempts by striking CEPU and AMWU workers to negotiate pay parity and mainland rates of pay, with negotiations ongoing since August 2023.
Last week, Saputo reneged on an in-principle agreement to address the pay disparity leaving the unions with no choice but to escalate the dispute and call for a national boycott of Saputo products.
The unions are now calling for the community to boycott popular dairy brands such as Cheer, Devondale, Cracker Barrel, Great Ocean Road, King Island Dairy, Liddells, Mersey Valley, South Cape, Tasmanian Heritage among others manufactured by the dairy processor.
The protected industrial action will see the unions take on Saputo’s biggest clients in Woolworths and Coles in a bid to end the pay dispute. It is hoped future rallies outside of Woolworth and Coles supermarkets will have a disruptive effect on the processor’s bottom line.
Media opportunity:
Location: Saputo Australian Headquarters - 28 Freshwater Place, Southbank,
Melbourne
Time/Date: 10am Wednesday 3rd July
Quotes attributable to CEPU State Secretary Michael Anderson:
“Through Saputo’s miscalculation of the strength of the workers, and their arrogance not to see sense, they have already cost the company tenfold of what parity would mean for these striking 24 workers. They literally spend more money fighting workers getting decent pay than just doing it.”
“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, and from 21% lower wages, these guys haven’t!”
“Saputo picked this fight and brought us here today, and now we’ll see if management are keen to play games as union members boycott their brand. We’ll see if Woolies and Coles like their products boycotted.”
Quotes attributable to AMWU Tasmanian Acting State Secretary Jacob Batt:
“Saputo have really stepped in it by taking on workers over parity. The North-West Tasmanian community is right behind these workers, and the wave of discontent over poor treatment is well and truly washing right through all of Australia.”
“Workers have given Saputo several great opportunities to resolve this dispute, and they have not only squandered them both, but as shown last week, are prepared to go back on their word.”
“A company paying workers equally for their skills is fair but treating workers poorly because of where 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 to trample all over them and their own brand.”
Media contact: Sonia Feng 0478 599 580