Dairy processor Murray Goulburn (MG) is negotiating with the National Union of Workers (NUW) over a proposal to reduce the work roster for NUW members at its Koroit factory from seven days a week.
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NUW state secretary Garry Maas said a reduction to a five or six day a week roster was among the options being discussed.
Mr Maas said if the work roster at Koroit was reduced to five days a week, it would cut the pay of some NUW members by up to $500 a week.
Mr Maas said he believed MG wanted to reduce the hours of its Koroit processing operations because of a cut in milk supply that was affecting not only Koroit, but other MG processing plants in Victoria.
He also said recent media reports had suggested MG would next week announce a restructure of its operations in response to the drop in milk supply.
Those reports have suggested MG will close some of its northern Victorian processing plants. Mr Maas said the fact that MG was negotiating to reduce its processing operations at Koroit suggested it intended to keep the Koroit factory open.
He said the NUW had included a claim for a fair milk price for farmers in its negotiations with MG because it was aware of the strong link between a fair farmgate milk price and good milk supply to processors.
An MG spokesman confirmed the cooperative was “consulting with our employees and the union on shift changes at Koroit.” He said the consultations were part of normal talks about production requirements.
