Wedderburn workers strike for first enterprise agreement

Members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union working at Wedderburn in Thomastown, in Melbourne’s north, have walked off the job in pursuit of their first enterprise agreement.

They started a week-long strike on 7 September after around four months of frustrated attempts to negotiate an agreement. Wedderburn manufacture weighing, labelling, packaging and point of sale equipment for businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

Many of the 17 workers on strike spend much of their time on the road responding to maintenance call-outs for equipment all across Victoria. They want an increase to their on-call allowance, which hasn’t changed in eight years, and a wage increase which is close to CPI. Their claims are modest by any standard.

The company has now responded with its own set of claims. After a pause in protected action, the workers plan to walk off the job again while negotiations continue. They are determined to head off any more of the company’s delaying tactics.