Dairy workers take 6.25 p.c.

Press, 18 November 1989, Page 2

Dairy workers take 6.25 p.c.

By

DIANE KEENAN

The month-long dairy dispute, estimated to have cost more than $2O million in spilt milk, is over after dairy workers yesterday accepted a 6.25 per cent pay increase.

The secretary of the Dairy Workers’ Union, Mr Ray Potroz, said 80 per cent of dairy workers had voted to accept the settlement at site meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. The union advised the Council of Trade Unions president, Mr Ken Douglas, and employers of the decision yesterday. Mr Potroz said that in addition to the 6.25 per cent wage increase, the settlement included a 4.5 per cent increase in allowances. “The agreement for multi-union bargaining which we perceive as the first stage of a composite award in the dairy industry, is also singificant for the union,” he said. “At the start of negotiations, employers had tried to introduce flexible sjterby-site bargaining.” Other conditions in the settlement .included a ‘ common ■ expiry date of November 13 for all dairy awards and a commitment for unions in the dairy industry to work towards a common code of employment. Mr Potroz said he would have liked the award to have been settled at a higher level. During negotiations the union dropped its claim from 10.25 per

cent to 8.2 per cent and then 6.9 per cent. “But we are satisfied that the 6.25 per cent is 2 per cent above other awards settled in the round,” he said. The daily employers’ general manager, Mr John Murdoch, said yesterday he was pleased that he could announce an end to the dispute. “Our position in the dairy workers’ award talks has been totally vindicated," he said. “As a resit of our talks with the C.T.U. we have an agreement where the wage increase for dairy workers and the trades groups in the industry has been set at 6.25 per cent for a 13-month term with no backdating. “Extending the term from 11 months to 13 months will reduce the over-all wage bill to the dairy industry by more than half a per cent to 5.7 per cent.” Mr Murdoch said the C.T.U. had brought "reason and logic” to the negotiations. “We also have a commitment from the C.T.U. that the unions involved in the dairy industry will establish new bargaining procedures for the future and an assurance that in future milk will not be spilled,” he said.