By Luke Voogt
Local workers went on strike at a Lara feed mill on Monday, demanding a pay rise and an enterprise agreement following a six-month salary dispute.
National Union of Workers organiser Tom Rossiter called for a “transparent” collective agreement which “reflects the hard work they do”.
“The workers agreed they didn’t want to be on individual contracts,” he said.
“You may be doing the same work as someone next to you but you’re receiving different entitlements.”
About a dozen workers had been locked in bargaining with the mill’s owner, animal nutrition company Ridley, with since June 2017, according to Mr Rossiter.
They had been on individual contracts since the mill opened, but in May 2017 filed a majority support determination to Fair Work Australia for an enterprise agreement, he said.
“Initially Ridley didn’t acknowledge it.”
Ridley had offered the mill’s workers a deal, which included an hourly rate of $26.14 per hour for ‘level 4’ employees, Mr Rossiter said.
But the pay rates were lower than enterprise agreements at the company’s other Victorian sites, he said.
Mr Rossiter alleged Ridley had failed to provide a site manager for six months at the Lara mill.
“Without a site manager, workers have been holding down the site for four or five hours overtime at short notice – sometimes less than a day’s notice.”
He urged the company to employ a site manager to give workers time to plan around their families.
“This is about having a bit of respect,” he said.
The Indy contacted Ridley director Tim Hart, who declined to comment.
