Not enough: Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union official Danny Miller says Visy’s offer to its workers in Shepparton would effectively be a pay cut.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
Forty workers have walked off the job at Visy’s Shepparton plant in Wheeler St, protesting the company’s latest enterprise bargaining agreement offer, saying it amounts to a pay cut.
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The protected action called by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union was to run for 24 hours from 7am on Wednesday, January 18.
AMWU site organiser Danny Miller said Visy could afford a better offer given it is Australia’s largest privately owned company with an annual turnover of more than $7 billion and its executive Anthony Pratt is worth an estimated $14 billion.
Walk out: Around 40 workers walked off the job for 24 hours at Visy’s Shepparton plant over the company’s latest pay offer.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
Mr Miller said Visy’s current offer sat at eight per cent over the three-year life of the EBA, or 2.6 per cent annually, which he said was well below the current rate of inflation of 7.3 per cent.
“We’ve been negotiating now for the best part of eight months, nine months,” he said.
“We've got to the point where we’re literally at a stalemate in regards to the terms and conditions of the new enterprise agreement.
“It's just not acceptable in the current environment if you’re suffering through the high cost of living.
“If you look at what CPI is at the moment, it's almost the amount that Visy want over a three-year period.”
Mr Miller said workers had put in extra hours to help the company through COVID-19 challenges and to meet greater demand for its product.
The union says the action interrupted Visy’s production of cans for businesses such as SPC, Campbell’s Soup and Simplot.
