Pampas workers strike for pay rise

BY PAUL MILLER

MELBOURNE — Workers employed at the Pampas factory in West Footscray
have been on strike since September 4, after negotiations about wages and
conditions broke down. It is the first strike at the plant in 20 years.

The dispute began three weeks earlier when management refused to pay
workers for a union meeting; workers decided to sit in the lunchroom for
24 hours.

While workers want 4% per annum for the next two years and back pay
of the same percentage from July this year, the company has only offered
an 8.5% pay rise over three years.

The company has also asked workers to trade off conditions including
rostered days off and safety net insurance, which would mean an extra 2%
burden on workers wages — effectively only a 0.9% wage rise.

The company told the 130 striking workers it was not prepared to come
back to the negotiating table until they returned to work. It issued notices
to workers threatening that lost production could spell staff cuts.

Despite the attitude of management, the spirits of workers on the picket
line remains high. There is a high flow-through of motor traffic on the
road past the picket line and there is an almost continuous tooting of
horns in support of the striking workers.

If you wish to support the workers, visit the picket line at 11-13 Sunshine
Road, West Footscray.

From Green Left Weekly, September 18, 2002.

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From GLW issue 509