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11 August 2009

More than 200 workers in the major Queensland sugar centre of Bundaberg have voted to take industrial action to protect their leave entitlements targeted by the foreign-owned mill owner.

Australian Workers' Union organisers Tony Beers said more than 80% of votes cast, and in some instance nearly 90%, were in favour of taking industrial action, which can include work stoppages, bans on overtime and bans on transfers of employees.

"Bundaberg Sugar workers have said 'enough is enough'.  We have been involved in protracted negotiations with the local management and the threat against the five days' travel leave of workers hangs over these families," he said.

"Bundaberg Sugar is attacking the entitlements of these workers, and they are undermining family life for these workers."

Mr Beers said the ballot was ordered by Fair Work Australia, and the AWU would meet with company representatives on Wednesday in a final attempt to avoid taking industrial action. If this meeting was not successful, Mr Beers said, workers would meet after then to begin taking industrial action.

Mr Beers said the workers understood any work stoppages during the crushing season would be disruptive, and the AWU had met with grower representatives Canegrowers last month to outline the workers' concerns.

"These workers have stood by the sugar industry in its darkest hours.  Now the industry is enjoying the best sugar prices in more than a decade, these workers and their families are being targeted," he said.

"Workers have been buoyed by the support they have received in the community, from other sugar regions of the State and from sugar industry workers overseas," he said.

"We are concerned Bundaberg Sugar's attack on worker entitlements could spread to other cane-growing regions of Queensland.  We want to stop it in its tracks at Bundaberg."

"No sugar industry family should be targeted like those in Bundaberg."