Following the resolution of the long-running industrial pay dispute between Wilmar Sugar and the three unions representing mill workers last week, I urge our sugarcane industry to pull together and get on with the job at hand.
Workers at Wilmar Sugar’s nine mills voted to accept a new Enterprise Agreement put forward by the company, and I, for one, say it’s great to have this issue finally resolved and in a way that is acceptable to both the workers and the mill.
But it has dragged on for far too long, with the growers stuck in the middle, due to no fault of their own.
CANEGROWERS has been instrumental in trying to bring the two warring parties, Wilmar and the unions, together to seek a responsible solution for the industry.
We took strong action.
Our representatives met several times with Wilmar and the unions’ senior officials and called on them to apply to the Fair Work Commission to commence an arbitration process so that the strikes could stop, and a deal could be struck.
We have repeatedly said that workers deserve to be represented and to achieve a fair pay deal, but milling companies must also be financially viable.
We have not taken sides but remained neutral in the hope of seeking a resolution.
But it has taken too long, and the toll on this year’s season impacts not only our industry but our local communities as well, the dispute has delayed cane crushing across half the industry.
The rolling stoppages at Wilmar mills, which crush about 50 per cent of Queensland’s sugarcane, has cost growers and contractors dearly, not just
financially but also in terms of their stress and anxiety about this year’s length of season.
Despite this it is now time to put it behind us, and for the entire industry to come together, support our mill workers and our contractors, and put our shoulders to the wheel so we can make the 2024 season a success.
Let’s crush it between now and December.
