McCain workers have voted in favour of a new industrial agreement ending three months of stop work action.
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Wednesday’s endorsement ends a long-running stoush which saw workers flown in from McCain factories from New Zealand and Tasmania to cover production.
Work stoppages started in mid-September with a strike of over 300 workers and continued after workers rejected a revised Enterprise Bargaining Agreement in October.
McCain worker and Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union delegate Leigh Aspland has worked at the Ballarat plant for 28 years.
He said workers were relieved after months of uncertainty.
“There was a lot of people that were worried about their positions, there was a lot of people very nervous for their jobs in Ballarat and now that’s finished I think they’re relieved,” he said.
“We had handshakes on the way down here, they’re happy it’s all said and done and we’re all happy we’ve stood together and seen it through.”
The Ballarat plant employs over 600 workers, including about 100 casual employees.
In October McCain said protracted action could force the plant to shutdown “within weeks”.
Plant manager Karl Thin said on Wednesday the endorsement of the EBA would secure the site’s viability into the future.
“It was a real concern for us, not having an EBA that enabled us to continue working here,” Mr Thin said.
“We see it as a positive for the Ballarat site, for the Ballarat community and for manufacturing in Victoria as a whole.”
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Jessica Black
Ballarat journalist.
Ballarat journalist.
