It comes after collective agreement negotiations for employees at the Bathurst, Kelso and Tasmanian sites broke down.

A spokeswoman for the company yesterday said Simplot was concerned industrial action would delay the finalisation of replacement enterprise agreements. 

In particular, the spokeswoman said, management feared the industrial action would harm employees, growers, customers and local suppliers.

She said Simplot remains willing and available to continue negotiations. 

“Meetings between Simplot Australia and the unions commenced in early February 2014 to replace a now expired enterprise bargaining agreement, which covered Simplot’s food manufacturing plants in Bathurst, Kelso, Devonport, Ulverstone and its harvesting operations in East Devonport,” she said.

“These negotiations follow Simplot’s announcement in October 2013 to significantly scale down its Bathurst operations, and implement a three-year operational improvement plan for its Devonport vegetable plant. 

“Both of these plants have been struggling to compete against higher imported volumes of frozen and canned vegetables.

“Simplot has sought to urgently restructure these plants to secure their long-term financial viability and reduce their cost structures, while at the same time minimising the impact on employees.”

The spokeswoman added that a key sticking point in negotiations has been the union’s wage rise claim of two per cent above the consumer price index, since downgraded to a flat four per cent a year.

“This is substantially more than other wage outcomes being agreed elsewhere and is more than Simplot is willing to pay considering the sizeable cost constraints it is operating under,” she said.

“Simplot has instead proposed total increases of four per cent for Bathurst and Devonport over three years, and a total of six per cent over three years for the other sites.”

AMWU NSW secretary Tim Ayres said this week the claim advanced on behalf of employees was “very modest”.

“There isn’t a way forward for Simplot by driving wages and conditions down,” he said.

“This is not how they are going to remain competitive.”