Australia: Carlton & United Breweries settles long-running dispute with workers

The long-running beer dispute at Carlton & United Breweries has ended as the brewer reached a deal with unions to reinstate sacked maintenance staff on their full pay and conditions, The Australian Financial Review reported on December 7.

In an agreement finalised on December 7 with the Electrical Trades Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the brewer invited all the picketing workers at its Abbotsford plant in Victoria to return to their jobs on December 12, with an agreement on no-forced redundancies until 2020.

A confidential deed is also understood to have include compensation for the workers, who were without work since June.

The unions have also agreed to "moderated wage outcomes" and flexibility on rosters, overtime requests and rostered days off.

CUB terminated the 55 maintenance workers' contract in June in favour of labour hire company Programmed which sought to re-hire the workers under significantly lower pay and conditions.

The sacked workers held a continuous picket line outside the factory, spurred strikes by the CUB workforce, and saw Programmed withdraw from its contract.

Leaked company documents in November revealed the brewer was struggling to meet peak summer demand due to maintenance issues. Unions estimated it was losing A$2 million a week in production losses.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, which took over CUB's parent company SABMiller in October, is understood to have played a crucial role in ending the dispute, with vice president of supply Ken Hitchcock brought in to negotiate with the unions over the last two weeks.

A national boycott campaign against CUB products is also understood to have brought pressure on the brewer to resolve the dispute.

Unions have now called for the boycott to end immediately and encouraged supporters to drink the "full range of CUB beers and ciders".

A CUB spokesperson said the company had agreed to "fair and decent union terms and conditions" and "all parties agreed to productivity and efficiency improvements that will be implemented at the brewery".

"CUB and the unions have mapped out a better approach based on mutual respect, productivity and a shared passion to make the best beers with the best skilled workers."

ETU state secretary Troy Gray said "common sense prevailed at the end". "There was no need for this dispute, it was ridiculous."

He said CUB management had predicted about three weeks of protest from unions when it sacked the workers – "it lasted 181 days".

The dispute saw picket members go six months without wages, suffer anxiety and depression, and see their relationships break down.

In turn, CUB's alternative workforce alleged harassment from the picket line, with the Fair Work Commission handing down unprecedented anti-bullying orders that banned union officials from using the words "scab", "rat", "dog", "f---wit" or "c---".

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said the CUB deal was a "historic win" for the union movement.

"These 55 workers have been out on the street for nearly 180 days standing up for the rights of all workers, they will walk back into work on Monday morning with their jobs secure at their full pay and conditions."He called on the Turnbull government to introduce changes to labour hire and subcontracting laws so that "no other workers have to go through what the CUB 55 have been forced to endure".

About 40 of the original 55 are expected to return, with transitional arrangements in place for CUB's current alternative workforce.

07 December, 2016