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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