Quotes attributed to Irene Bell, Brewery Director
“It’s disappointing that strike action is potentially on the cards, but we will continue to communicate with our team and are confident there will be no issue with beer supply in QLD.
“Our team has extremely well-paid jobs with great conditions, and pay is not in question at all as part of these negotiations.
“Everyone in the Brewery can also get more than 50 free cartons of XXXX Gold a year, to share with friends and family. We’re proud of our long history of creating a great working environment.
“In response to continued Union claims about the Brewery’s future, let me say again: XXXX was born here, it’s brewed here and the Brewery’s not going anywhere.
“The Union regularly asks what team XXXX is on, but time and time again our brewers hear about their baseless claims first via the media – maybe the Union should be asking themselves that same question?
“We see plenty of proposals from developers about the Brewery, and anything that would affect brewing gets dismissed. We’ve even had our rights to brew at Milton enshrined in state law.
“We simply want to be able to use additional Queensland contractors when there’s a need. We do this at our breweries in other states, where the Unions have accepted their use in those agreements. Contractors are used to cover different scenarios including sick leave, long service leave or cover for fluctuations in market demand. Any contractors will get the same rates as our permanent employees.
“Summer before last we had to stop the production line 23 times because of sick leave, long service leave and other types of leave. Using contractors helps us at short notice, and those contractors will receive the same rates as our permanent employees.”
Background on legal protections to brew at Milton:
About 10 years ago apartments started being built around the site, and the company knew from other sites that thousands of residents can bring complaints about manufacturing (noise, smell, trucks), and these can force councils to change zoning laws.
The conversation led to the PLANNING (URBAN ENCROACHMENT-MILTON BREWERY) ACT 2009 being passed, which later became a larger sustainable development bill. This protects the rights to brew beer at Milton, plus the company has also spent millions on being a good neighbour, by further reducing odour and noise to minimise disturbance.
Media Enquiries:-
Dan Holland
Phone: 0429 364 299
