Company sacks 550 meatworkers
By Bronwen Beechey
ADELAIDE — Five hundred and fifty meatworkers in the small town of Murray Bridge were sacked following the sale of Metro meatworks to the Adelaide-based CR&S.
Workers at the plant were stood down on March 11 and told to listen to the radio and expect a letter if the sale went ahead. On March 19, Metro released a media statement which confirmed the sale and stated, "Metro is proceeding to terminate the employment of its 550-plus work force at Murray Bridge and related areas of business including livestock buyers". Workers heard the news through media sources before they received any official notification.
The Meat Industry Employees' Union (MIEU) responded angrily to the sackings. It described the company's action as showing a "deplorable lack of regard for loyal and long-serving employees", and suggested that the new owners wanted to hand-pick a smaller work force signed up on individual contracts. The mayor of Murray Bridge said the sackings would leave a "black hole" in the town of around 12,500 people.
State secretary of the MIEU Graham Smith told Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly on April 1 that the union has been attempting to hold discussions with the new owners, but have not yet been given any indication of when the plant will reopen, or if any of the former workers will be re-employed. They are waiting for a response before recommending any course of action.
"The workers received some redundancy pay, but that will only last most of them a couple of weeks and then it'll be back on the dole", Smith said. "The impact that the sackings will have on the town, and in the industry, will be huge."