DAIRY company Parmalat has shut down its Echuca processing plant indefinitely in the wake of workers taking industrial action over a pay and conditions dispute.
Frustrated with how negotiations to develop a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement were progressing, members of unions including the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union today commenced industrial action in the form of work bans.
Parmalat said as a result it made the ‘tough decision’ to close the site.
A spokesperson said the company was disappointed union members had decided to commence industrial action in light of the six months of good faith negotiations which Parmalat had participated in to date.
“Parmalat has also undertaken the necessary steps to ensure no customers will be impacted by the industrial action,” the spokesperson said.
“We believe the current offer is fair and reasonable and we are committed and ready to further discuss the benefits of the packaged offer in order to reach a resolution.
“The closure of the plant was undertaken to minimise the impact on customers and consumers of the planned industrial action, and to ensure the resulting disruption to production did not adversely impact farmers from whom we purchase product.”
Union bosses said scrapping the current agreement and putting workers on the award agreement would see a significant cut to conditions, starting with employees working an extra two hours a week.
The wage rates would be close to halved and the redundancies provisions would go from about four weeks per year for redundancy pay down to 16 week maximum, they said.