Simplot Australia secures new pay deal
Under the deal, penalty rates and the rights of casual workers will be protected but the processor will have more flexibility when it comes to shift start times and shift structures during peak harvest times, and when supermarkets put in special orders.
A majority of 70 per cent of the 800 workers employed at Simplot’s plants in Devonport, Ulverstone and in New South Wales agreed to take a 6 per cent pay rise — half of what the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union was fighting for.
Simplot managing director Terry O’Brien said the new rostering flexibility was a great win for the seasonal business.
“We have to run around the clock when harvest is on and if we wanted to change anything such as start times at short notice we had to get permission from the union,” he said.
While the union still has to be consulted, the new deal says it cannot withhold agreement unreasonably.
The Fair Work Commission is expected to endorse the deal.
Source: weeklytimesnow.com.au
