McCain Ballarat staff return to work following strike

McCain Ballarat staff return to work following strike
april 13, 2010
Striking workers at the McCain Foods Ballarat factory in Australia were ordered back to work yesterday following a dispute over rostered days off.

The strike started when workers walked off the job on Monday night after the company failed to come to an agreement about when RDOs could be taken.

But by yesterday afternoon, Fair Work Australia had directed the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union not to take any further industrial action over the matter.

The union will now make an application for a settlement of dispute procedure at a date to be set.

AMWU regional secretary (food and confectionery division) Tom Hale said the workers were entitled to one rostered day off a month.

Mr Hale said the company wanted to make workers take their RDOs at quiet times during the year.

"Workers are saying no, the RDOs are for our leisure...not to stand us down when there is no work,"he said.

McCain Foods: "We have been in discussions with the union since December ... and we are surprised the union has taken this illegal action as opposed to continuing discussions or seeking assistance from Fair Work Australia."

"Basically we are looking for some flexibility that meets our business needs."

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