Baiada poultry workers win agreement

indonesia / philippines / australia | workplace struggles | news report Thursday November 24, 2011 15:44 by Dmitri (republishing) - MACG (personal capacity) ngnm55 at gmail dot com

After two weeks on strike

After two weeks on strike from 9 – 22 November, poultry workers at the Baiada poultry factory in Laverton have won a 4% annual pay increase and a reduction in the exploitation of casual and contract labour.

After two weeks on strike from 9 – 22 November, poultry workers at the Baiada poultry factory in Laverton have won a 4% annual pay increase and a reduction in the exploitation of casual and contract labour. The union agreement signed between members of the National Union of Workers (NUW) and Baiada includes:

• 8% pay rise over two years (4% a year)
• conversion of casual employees to permanent after six months
• standardised pay rates for contractors and casuals (who, to date, have been paid as little at $10 an hour)
• increased redundancy compensation, from 20 weeks to 42 weeks
• increased paid time allowances for union delegates to train and support their co-workers

NUW delegate Gabriel told Green Left Weekly : “We went on strike because of job security and cash-in-hand [workers]. Baiada sacks permanent people and replaces them with contractors. Health and safety is bad for everybody but it is worst for casuals and cash-in-hand workers. The worker who was decapitated [last year] was a subcontractor so he wasn’t covered by Baiada for WorkCover. We are trying to win a clause in our agreement that if the company uses contractors, they have to be paid more than permanents.”

Gabriel also described how the company retaliated against him after he became a delegate: “When I became a delegate, they demoted me, changed my shift and took away my overtime”.

Another important win was that poultry workers in Adelaide have been reinstated who were suspended for taking industrial action in solidarity with the strikers in Laverton have been reinstated!

Baiada is Australia’s largest supplier of poultry. The Baiada family that owns the company has estimated wealth of $495 million.
Thank you to all community supporters who came down to the picket, and who donated to the Baiada workers. Collections were also taken up at many worksites, including other poultry manufacturers Inghams and Steggles.

WSN is still encouraging donations to make up for Baiada workers’ wages lost during the strike: Acc Name: Carboni Workers Club BSB: 803226 Acc: 10077