- by Graham Holton
- The Guardian
- Issue #2146
Workers at PepsiCo in South Australia. Photo: UnitedWorkersOz FaceBook
More than 150 workers of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), an affiliation of the United Workers Union (UWU), have been on four-hour work stoppages across five shifts at PepsiCo’s Adelaide factory. The factory produces Doritos, Twisties, and Smith’s chips. On 28 April PepsiCo offered its Adelaide staff a 12 per cent pay rise over the next three years, which was rebuffed by 97 per cent of workers. Workers want a 15 per cent raise over the next three years for wages to catch up with inflation. The strike ran from 8 May to 10 May. Union officials warn that further industrial action may be taken.
Workers are currently paid 12 per cent less than their counterparts in Queensland. Inflation has meant workers’ real wages are worse off by 8 per cent. Even when the UWU’s claim is awarded, Level 3 workers will earn $200/week less in the final year of the proposed agreement than if their wages had matched cost of living since 2022. This is a total real loss of $17,000. Level 3 workers are currently being paid $1,266 a week.
The UWU Director of Food & Beverage, Mel Gatfield, said: “There is plenty of spare change and PepsiCo can afford to do the right thing, but they’re choosing not to.” IUF Asia Pacific Regional Secretary, Hidayat Greenfield, said: “PepsiCo is squeezing every cent from workers while refusing to offer a fair deal.” IUF Acting General, Secretary Kristjan Bragason said that PepsiCo’s wage increase offer was “well below the inflation rate and is unfair to UWU members.”
A PepsiCo spokesperson in Australia said the corporation’s offer was “fair and reasonable,” and: “Our people are our top priority and we are committed to working with them and the unions to continue discussions in good faith and come to an agreement that is acceptable to our employees.” PepsiCo is the world’s second-largest food and beverage corporation with a market capitalisation of more than US$176 billion.In 2023 PepsiCo made $106 million in profits in Australia. They’ve got the money to pay their workers the same in every state. They can afford for wages to keep pace with inflation.
