Dairy workers from Saputo’s Burnie factory in North-West Tasmania will be rallying on the lawns of Parliament House in Hobart, in a bid to further their campaign for mainland rates of pay, as they commence their ninth week of ongoing protected industrial action.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) are calling for maintenance workers at the processor’s Burnie site to be paid equal to their Victorian counterparts, who are paid 23.5% more than those in Tasmania.
Canadian diary manufacturer, Saputo, is one of the largest dairy processors in the country but its Australian division has so far failed to offer Tasmanian workers a fair deal despite multiple negotiation attempts by striking CEPU and AMWU workers, with bargaining ongoing since August 2023.
It follows last month’s developments where the unions launched a national boycott of Saputo-made products after the multinational reneged on an in-principle agreement on pay parity.
The unions are urging the community to boycott popular dairy brands including Cheer, Devondale, Cracker Barrel, Great Ocean Road, King Island Dairy, Liddells, Mersey Valley, South Cape, Tasmanian Heritage among others manufactured by the dairy processor, in support of the improvement of workers’ pay and conditions.
The media and members of the community are invited to attend the rally and press conference on Wednesday as workers take a stand.
Media opportunity:
When: 7th August, rally at 1pm followed by a press conference
Where: Parliament House Lawns, 1 Salamanca Pl, Hobart TAS 7000
Talent: AMWU’s Jacob Batt, CEPU’s Michael Anderson
Quote attributable to AMWU Tasmanian State Secretary Jacob Batt:
“We’ve had support from a number of politicians, but workers are here today to get support from across all political persuasions. You would think that all politicians in our state would support Tasmanian workers receiving the same rates of pay as their mainland counterparts.”
Quote attributable to CEPU State Secretary Michael Anderson:
"Workers all across Tassie are behind this dispute because every worker is sick of being told Tassie deserves less."
Media contact: Sonia Feng 0478 599 580