By Casey Neill
Yakult says striking workers have been receiving a two per cent pay rise since January.
The 30 men walked off the job at the Dandenong South probiotic drink factory on Monday 19 March and have since maintained a 24-hour presence at the site.
They told the Journal that management was refusing to speak to them.
Doveton man Paul Grundy, a Yakulk employee of more than 12 years, said workers asked for a pay rise to combat the CPI (consumer price index).
“They only offered 2.5 per cent, but they wanted to take clauses out of the EBA (enterprise bargaining agreement),” he said.
“They don’t want to take the money out of our wage to pay the union.
“They want us to pay the union direct.”
Mr Grundy said workers told Yakult they would accept the 2.5 per cent rise if the EBA remained the same.
“Since then, the managers don’t want to talk to us,” he said.
Workers are now asking for a 3 per cent wage increase.
Yakult sales and corporate affairs director David Whatley said negotiations started last September.
“There have been offers and counter-offers,” he said.
“As it stands, those offers are still on the table.
“It’s just terribly disappointing.
“Our workforce in the factory has got a pay rise each and every year, even when there was no EBA in place.
“We pay above the award rate. Some receive in excess of 30 per cent above the award.”
The lowest increase put on the table was two per cent, so Yakult has been paying that since January.
“We actually don’t have to do anything until the EBA comes back stamped and approved by Fair Work Australia,” he said.
Mr Whatley said the one offer did involve workers paying union fees direct “instead of us processing the paperwork” and a 2.5 per cent rise.
“We don’t know who’s in and who’s not, we save ourselves a lot of work,” he said.
“They said no.”
Another option was to increase wages by between two and four per cent based on performance evaluations.
“Twenty-four workers would have got 2.5,” he said.
“Another couple would have got three per cent and another couple two per cent.”
He said Yakult also offered to fairly increase wages each year, and a flat two per cent with no concessions.
“As it stands today they’ve made no concessions whatsoever and they’ve increased the salary demand to three per cent,” he said.
Mr Whatley said his last conversation with workers was via the National Union of Workers on Friday 16 March.
“They went on strike on Monday. I was on a plane to Brisbane on Tuesday and I’ve been in New Zealand Wednesday and Thursday,” he said.
“I’ve had no contact requesting a meeting.”
