By ANEEKA SIMONIS
JILTED dairy workers remain locked out of Longwarry Foods following drastic action taken by Parmalat in response to an ongoing union pay dispute.
Up to 50 workers were indefinitely barred from re-entering the milk processing plant on Tuesday 5 July.
The closure came the same day workers planned to take protected industrial action against the processor which included refusals to work overtime, complete paperwork and load and unload trucks – as part of a push for better pay and conditions.
National Union of Workers (NUW) delegate Mark Drayton said Parmalat was given three business days’ notice on the planned industrial action, but when workers arrived at the Longwarry site 6am that morning, they were met with news they had been indefinitely locked out.
Dairy site workers, who produce UHT milk and cream cheese under management of Parmalat which took over in late 2014, are pushing for pay and condition parity to the Melbourne site as part of a stalled Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiation.
A union statement claims Longwarry workers receive some of the lowest wages and conditions of all the big milk processors in the state.
Mr Drayton said the union was only asking for what other Parmalat workers were already getting.
“We’re not going above and beyond anything they’re already doing,” he said.
Central to the agreement is the union’s push for permanent job security for casual workers who have worked six months of full-time hours, as well as rostering agreements.
An NUW statement claims the site currently directly and indirectly employs 50 employees in addition to many other casual workers, some of whom have worked full-time hours for up to three years.
“We want our casual workmates who have worked long-term here to be able to convert to permanent positions. This will provide them certainty and give them and their families more security to plan their futures,” Mr Drayton said.
After coming down hard on its workers, Parmalat shows no signs of easing up on their lockout terms.
A Parmalat spokesperson said the processor was “disappointed” by industrial action planned by workers, labelling it “irresponsible and unnecessary”.
“As a result, we have had to make the tough decision to close the site indefinitely. We believe the current packaged offer is fair and reasonable and we are committed and ready to further discuss the benefits of the packaged offer,” the spokesperson said.
Workers hope to be able to sit down and discuss these issues and continue negotiations, but are resolute in sticking together for a fair outcome.
The Parmalat spokesperson said they would not be making any further comment on the closure.
