Unions Tasmania says the current industrial dispute at a Burnie could be a test case for other Tasmanian workers not being paid the same as mainlanders doing the same job.
Maintenance workers at the Burnie plant of multi-national dairy processor Saputo, which produces the Heritage, South Cape and Mersey Valley cheeses, say they are being paid 21% less that Saputo workers at mainland facilities doing the same job.
The workers have walked off the job multiple times in the past three three weeks with more rolling stoppages planned after enterprise bargaining talks broke down.
Unions Tasmania secretary Jess Munday says Tasmanians need wages which compete in a national market and the idea it’s cheaper to live in Tasmania is outdated, with Bureau of Statistics data showing Tasmanian workers are on average $220 a week worse off and the Saputo dispute is being closely watched workers in by other industries.
