XXXX workers have been banned from blockading the Brisbane brewery during their long-running union dispute with Lion subsidiary Castlemaine Perkins.
Fair Work Commissioner Jennifer Hunt has also issued orders preventing United Voice from telling the media that Lion wants to shut down the Brisbane brewery or outsource jobs interstate.
The Fair Work orders follow six months of strikes and picket lines at the Milton site.
In her decision, Commissioner Hunt said United Voice had organised “obstructive rallies” in March and May where about 100 people blocked trucks entering or leaving the brewery.
She added that the rallies were “unfair conduct … organised to put immense pressure on [Castlemaine Perkins] to relax its bargaining position on various issues.”
Commissioner Hunt found that United Voice coordinator Damien Davie repeatedly made false statements to the media to bring “intense media scrutiny on the beer brand”.
“It is quite a ridiculously parochial statement to make to the media, and one which Mr Davie would, on the balance of probabilities, know to be false and malicious.”
Another ruling on Thursday found that United Voice breached orders by failing to properly communicate restraining notices to members over industrial action at the brewery.
As a result, United Voice has lost its protections for industrial action for the remainder of the bargaining period.
Davie said the decisions showed the bargaining system “needs an overhaul”.
“XXXX is using high-priced lawyers to manipulate a system that’s stacked against workers and unions,” he told The Australian Financial Review.
“The bargaining system is broken and the rules needs to change.”
However, a spokesman for Lion said “we respect the findings of the independent umpire”.
Lion repeatedly denied union claims
During a strike rally in May, Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus joined members from United Voice Queensland, the Electrical Trades Union and the Maritime Union during a protest.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here earlier but I’m here now and I’m proud to say that this dispute is escalating and anything you ask for you’ll get,” she said while standing on the back of ute.
McManus said workers were fighting for job security and to ensure casuals receive a 25% loading from XXXX.
“We think it’s critically important that if Lion wants to use labour hire it should only be for peaks and troughs and we believe that actually what they’re trying to do is replace the workforce over time and we think that this is the wrong business model,” she said.
XXXX brewery manager Irene Bell (above) responded saying: “We need the option to engage part-time or fixed-term workers as well as third party labour to flex up our operations and cover sick or long service leave.
“This is about supplementing our permanent work force not replacing it. It’s about establishing clear clauses in the new agreement which will explain to our permanent workers how this type of labour is used at Milton. We are proposing rates of pay that are in line with the rates of our permanent workforce.”
Lion has repeatedly assured workers during the dispute the plant will remain open.
In an earlier statement, Bell noted: “Our team has extremely well-paid jobs with great conditions, and pay is not in question at all as part of these negotiations.
“Everyone in the Brewery can also get more than 50 free cartons of XXXX Gold a year, to share with friends and family. We’re proud of our long history of creating a great working environment.
“In response to continued Union claims about the Brewery’s future, let me say again: XXXX was born here, it’s brewed here and the Brewery’s not going anywhere.
“The Union regularly asks what team XXXX is on, but time and time again our brewers hear about their baseless claims first via the media – maybe the Union should be asking themselves that same question?
“We see plenty of proposals from developers about the Brewery, and anything that would affect brewing gets dismissed. We’ve even had our rights to brew at Milton enshrined in state law.
“We simply want to be able to use additional Queensland contractors when there’s a need. We do this at our breweries in other states, where the Unions have accepted their use in those agreements. Contractors are used to cover different scenarios including sick leave, long service leave or cover for fluctuations in market demand. Any contractors will get the same rates as our permanent employees.
“Summer before last we had to stop the production line 23 times because of sick leave, long service leave and other types of leave. Using contractors helps us at short notice, and those contractors will receive the same rates as our permanent employees.”
