SIMPLOT may be cutting back operations at its Bathurst plant to ease running costs, but that has not stopped workers from seeking a pay rise.
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The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) has applied for a wage increase of almost five per cent for its workers at the four Simplot plants in NSW and Tasmania.
AMWU acting national secretary of the food and confectionery division Tom Hale yesterday confirmed the union had given Simplot a log of claims with a two per cent wage increase, on top of the inflation rate of 2.7 per cent.
The claim comes as the Simplot factory at Bathurst is set to cut 110 jobs, while its Devonport operation in Tasmania is set to cut more than 200 casual jobs.
It was almost immediately rejected by Simplot management.
Mr Hale said meetings were held with members at the Bathurst, Kelso, Ulverstone and Devonport plants.
“We held meetings on all shifts, at all sites and they endorsed passing on the log of claims,” he said. “They have voted to put in the claim across all the sites.
“We put in a two per cent claim above inflation, which was endorsed before Christmas by the members.”
Mr Hale noted that while voting had not been unanimous, there had been overwhelming support for the wage increase.
He added that the wage increase was combined with the inflation rate, to ensure that wages do not go backwards.
“If we don’t take inflation into account, their pay packet buys less than what it did in the previous year,” he said.
“This is not a huge amount; they are just trying to maintain their standard of living.”
Mr Hale said while the union and Simplot management would be sitting down on February 12 to discuss the issues, he expects that Simplot will not accept the wage increase.
“Certainly after all the posturing the company has been doing, I’m not expecting them to agree to it on the first day. It will have to be a discussion.”
Simplot’s managing director Terry O’Brien told the ABC the pay claim would hurt the company’s bottom line at a time when it was trying to rein in costs.
“One of the things we’re looking for is a slowdown in the demand for increases into the future,” Mr O’Brien said.
“This early log of claims from them indicates they haven’t heard a word we said because what they’ve asked for is actually more than we’ve historically paid.”
Mr O’Brien said the pay claim had forced the company to reconsider spending more than $60 million on its struggling operations at Bathurst and Devonport, which both need capital expenditure.
“Whilst our company is willing to do that, they’re not willing to do it if all that happens is we generate returns that are then used to fund higher and higher wage benefit demands,” he said.
The Simplot boss told the ABC he was also questioning whether the company’s workers voted for a five per cent pay rise.
“This is a log of claims put in by the union management and the voting comes at a later date when negotiations have got to a point where both sides are in agreement with what the increase should be,” he said.
“I don’t think our employees have been asked at all at this point.”
Mr O’Brien met with the Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss the pay claim.
