Last week, Wilmar Sugar and Renewables reported that the unions have joined Wilmar in accepting an offer from the Fair Work Commission to assist in resolving a long-running enterprise agreement dispute.
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU), Australian Metal Workers Union (AMWU) and Australian Workers Union (AWU) informed Wilmar this morning that, following consultation with members, they were willing to participate in the Commission process.
A Wilmar Sugar and Renewables spokesman said the company hoped the unions’ agreement to accept the Commission’s offer of assistance would pave the way to reaching an enterprise agreement that is fair, reasonable and sustainable for all parties.
“We are optimistic that, with the expert help of a Commissioner from the Fair Work Commission, we will finally be able to close the gap between the company’s offer and union claims,” he said.
“At our last negotiation talks, we indicated we were willing to consider a wage increase of up to 15% over three-and-a-half years, with productivity improvements.
“Unions tabled a claim of 22% which is higher than their previous claim of 18%, so there is a significant gap between the parties.
“The range we have offered for settlement of the EA is fair, reasonable and based on both economic data and more than 4,500 enterprise agreements approved by the Fair Work Commission over the past year.”
The spokesman said that, given unions had now agreed to participate in discussions facilitated by the Fair Work Commission, it was hoped they would withdraw next week’s planned industrial action.
“Last week’s one-hour industrial stoppage caused significant disruption across all eight sites. It has also put growers at risk of losing an estimated $3.5M in revenue.
“The last thing we or growers want to see is another unnecessary shutdown of sugar factories, and another $3.5M in growers’ revenue at risk.
“The agreement from unions to participate in the Commission process is a positive development and we are hopeful of reaching a resolution through this process.”
The spokesman said Wilmar would inform the Commission of the parties’ agreement to accept its offer of assistance, and await guidance on the next steps.
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