
Issue No 94		04 May 2001

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News

Arnotts Workers Seek More than Crumbs

By Andrew Casey

Arnott's Biscuit workers in Melbourne will meet on Monday to discuss a campaign to save the jobs of about 600 LHMU members threatened by the closure of the company's factory.

The company announced this week they were shutting the huge plant which manufactures one of Australia's national icons - the humble Arnotts biscuit.

Arnotts as Aussie culture?

Arnotts boasts in its media promotions that they are more than just a biscuit company, they are part of Australia's culture.

Arnotts was founded in 1865 by a Scottish immigrant cook whose biscuits soon became Australian favourites.

But descendants of the founder sold the Australian company to the US multinational Campbell Soups in 1997.

The great-granddaughter of the founder of Arnott's Biscuits, Alice Oppen, has told Melbourne newspapers she is dismayed at the planned closure of the factory.

Profits before people

"I think the closure of the Burwood factory is an example of what can happen when you let multinationals come in and buy things," Mrs Oppen said.

"Everything is then about profit. It's all about money and not about staff, the knowledge, the quality."

Mrs Oppen - who originally opposed other family members when they wanted to sell the company to the US giant - is rumoured to have personally made more than $13 million from the sale nearly four years ago.

Union wants to meet the US bosses

LHMU Victorian Assistant Secretary, Terry Breheny, says the company had decided they could make more profit by selling off the valuable suburban land for about $15 million to build homes - rather than keep manufacturing.

Union delegates are meeting local management today but they plan to demand to speak directly to the real bosses in the USA.

" It is our view that if the company does not give us a commitment that they will sit down and have some discussions with us, then we will be recommending to our members that they have some industrial action at the site to force the company to discuss the future of the plant," Terry Breheny said.

Terry Breheny said LHMU members will hold a huge rally at the factory site on May 12 and another community rally is being planned for a week later.

Nothing to lose

" LHMU members have got nothing to lose," Terry Breheny said.

" The average service of the people out there is 11 years. There's 400 directly employed people and 180 who are employees of labour hire firms.

" There's not a lot of other manufacturing sites in that area. The economy is tightening and job opportunities are rare."

The Victorian Trades Hall Secretary, Leigh Hubbard, said it would be clear by the time of the community rally whether workers would start urging a boycott campaign of this national icon product.

" I've got to say many of us have made up our minds already if the company is not interested in investing in Victoria, why should we invest in its products," Leigh Hubbard told the Melbourne media.

Contact Arnotts and tell 'em what you think

You too can make contact with the Arnotts bosses and tell them what you think about LHMU members getting the sack.

In your message you can remind them about their now hollow claim that they are more than just a biscuit company, they are part of Australian culture.

Contact Arnotts and leave a message by clicking here.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 94 contents

Interview: Global Action
The CFMEU has been a world leader in fighting the war on global corporations. John Maitland has been one of the generals.

Unions: Sisters United
In her May Day address, Bus Union state president Pat Ryan looks at the role women have played in the labour movement.

Politics: M1 and the Trade Unions
Phil Davey was one of the forces behind S11 but chose to sit out M1. He looks at this week's action.

History: Il Duce Roberto?
His modern-day fan club might not like it, but Rowan Cahill argues wartime PM Robert Menzies sailed close to the winds of Fascism.

International: Cuban Call for Global Labour Rights
An international meeting of union representatives in Cuba has vowed to start a campaign to defend workers rights from the effects of globalisation.

Economics: The G-Word
ACTU President Sharan Burrow asks if there's a better way forward for global trade.

Media: Birth Of A Nation
East Timor's young journalists are struggling with language barriers and technical difficulties most Australian media professionals wouldn't be able to comprehend. But they're keen and eager to learn.

Review: The Tremulous Hopes of the Fifties
Behind the the good times mythology of the 1950s was a desperate quest for the ordinary.

Satire: Teen Angst Poems a ï¿½Dangerï¿½
The Teen Angst Gun Massacre Affair has broadened, with staff at the NSW Department of Education revealing that ï¿½gangs of conspiratorsï¿½ have been found operating out of high school poetry competitions.

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» Arnotts Workers Seek More than Crumbs

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» Equity Members Send a Dear John Letter

» New Theatre Under Threat

» A Toast to May Day

» Activist Notebook