A six-week industrial dispute over a new enterprise agreement has been disrupting production at the Lemnos Campbell’s Soups factory.
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The factory processes vegetables for the Arnott’s company.
The company says the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is asking for an 18 per cent wage increase over the next three years and a fifth week of annual leave.
The company claims stoppages have led to the wastage of 30 tonnes of raw food in the past week.
Shepparton plant lead Talitha Johnston said events demonstrated how challenging it was to maintain production when industrial action occurred during critical stages of the manufacturing process.
“Food manufacturing is highly interconnected, and when one part of the process is disrupted unexpectedly, it affects the teams, equipment and operations that follow,” she said.
"Nobody wants to see ongoing disruption. We’re committed to working constructively and in good faith with the union, under the guidance of the Fair Work Commission, to reach a fair and sustainable outcome.”
Ms Johnston said the company’s priority was supporting its people, maintaining safe operations and protecting the future of a site that supported local jobs, local suppliers and the broader Shepparton community.
“The union’s claim of 18 per cent over three years, along with a number of other costly claims, remains well beyond what the business can reasonably support. The longer this dispute continues, the greater the impact on our operations, our customers and the site's long-term sustainability,” she said.
AMWI representative Candice Tierney, said central to the workers’ objections was an attempt by the company to casualise the workforce.
“Campbell’s has a record of permanent employment and we don’t want to see that change,” she said.
The loss of any production was unfortunate but Ms Tierney said it was in the company’s hands to resolve the dispute.
“The people are rostered to work and every day they turn up to work. They are frustrated that the company has not come to the table. They have a right to exercise their industrial rights.”
She said a commissioner from Fair Work was expected to attend the factory on July 1 for a conference between the parties.
“We applied for assisted bargaining because we were frustrated that after meeting with the company there was not much movement on the claims,” Ms Tierney said.
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