By DANIELLE GALVIN
TALKS between production workers at Gippsland Food Company and parent company Simplot have broken down after 12 months at the negotiation table.
Assistant State Secretary of the Australian Manufacturers Union (AMWU) Tom Hale said there was a deadlock between Simplot and the 200 or so workers on the production line over the possible “casualisation” of the work force.
In August last year, workers from the electrical and mechanical division of the Pakenham company went on strike over pay and working conditions.
“We’ve been negotiating for the same period of time,” Mr Hale said.
“There has been a bit of blockage, while we’re pretty well settled on the money part of it some time ago, the two outstanding issues are in relation to the established customs and practices that protects what they have already got, and the protection against casualisation.”
Mr Hale said the most important factor for the workers was about securing their jobs for the future.
“It’s about trying to make sure that the jobs at Gippsland Foods stay as permanent as possible,” he said.
“In the current agreement, there are provisions for casual workers to be capped at 20 per cent of the number of casual employees compared with permanent employees.
“We’re trying to protect full time jobs for the district.
“Going back to when Nestle owned the company, they introduced casuals but still kept it at 20 per cent.
“Simplot have since taken over and are still using the agency casuals, but they are saying the 20 per cent doesn’t apply because they are not Simplot employees and therefore the agreement doesn’t apply – which means that the wages and conditions in the agreement also don’t apply to these workers.”
Mr Hale said the situation was concerning for workers on contracts.
“When this happens, you get a situation where somebody is being paid considerably less with no conditions – your job is going to be in jeopardy,” he said.
“So what we’ve been saying to the company is that if you’re not going to make everyone casual, then why don’t you write that in the agreement?
“It’s just making people comfortable that you’re not trying to casualise their jobs.”
A worker on the production line, who did not want to be named, said that the plant used to look after casual workers.
“Now we have a labour hire company for probably about 10 years now,” the worker said.
“It is a concern for a lot of us if we are pushed out the door – there are sneaky ways they could push us out.
“Verbally they have agreed to it, but if it’s not in our EBA we have no legal standing there.”
Simplot declined to comment on the matter.
