Workers at General Mills (GM) in Rooty Hill, who make the well-known brands such as Old El Paso and Latina Fresh pasta, started an indefinite strike for a fair pay rise and secure work on June 3.
GM聽is one of the largest food manufacturing companies in the world: in 2019-20, it made more than $26 billion.
The workers are largely on casual contracts and now the company wants to slash rights and conditions, including reintroducing work on weekends while only offering a low pay rise without back pay.
United Workers Union (UWU) organiser Tom Sayers told 麻豆传媒 at a Family Day at the Rooty Hill site, attended by dozens of General Mills workers, families and their supporters on June 12, that the workers had done a great job during the pandemic. They deserve fair pay and conditions and 鈥渁 fair share of the profits鈥, he said.
鈥淲orkers were on the job up to seven days a week during COVID-19, risking their lives and their family鈥檚 lives to ensure Australians had access to food during the pandemic. GM鈥檚 profits greatly increased.鈥
Many workers have been employed by GM for more than 10 years. Despite this, many casual labour hire co-workers have been employed on insecure contracts for more than five years. They desperately want a permanent job, Sayers said.
The workers are demanding a 3% annual pay rise, backdated to February; an end to compulsory overtime; and for GM to withdraw its claim to 鈥済randfather鈥 鈥斅 limit 鈥 access to redundancy provisions. Another is for all casual workers with more than two years鈥 service to be converted to permanents.
鈥淭he company has rejected their claims, but has not put forward a new position,鈥 Sayers said. 鈥淕M is using the old tactic of attempting to divide and rule the workforce, by trying to use casualisation and labour hire against the permanent workers.鈥 But, the workers are 鈥渦nited, holding the line and refusing to back down鈥, he said.
鈥淕M workers have been encouraged by the support from unionists in other 麻豆传媒 of the food industry and from the broader union movement. This fight is part of a more general struggle against wage stagnation and the greed of the capitalist class,鈥澛燬ayers concluded.
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