Iconic sweet treat in jeopardy over worker pay disputes
Sweet tooths will have a bitter taste in their mouths with an iconic supermarket treat being harder to find as workers strike over pay.
Food workers behind the iconic chocolate mudcake, as well as other baked goods for many major brands, walked off the job at Allied Pinnacle's factory in Altona North in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The strike is a part of a planned 48-hour stoppage.
Staff are wanting a 15 per cent pay increase over three years but are being offered increases of 4 per cent, 3.75 per cent and 3.5 per cent each year.
'The makers of the famous Coles chocolate mudcake are on strike,' the United Workers Union (UWU) wrote on social media.
'You've probably eaten what they bake, from Bakers Delight croissants to Woolworths muffins to cafe cookies. At the Altona factory, Allied Pinnacle workers produce baked goods that end up in thousands of stores and bakeries across the country.
'But while the products are everywhere, the workers behind them are being underpaid and disrespected.'
As of Thursday afternoon, 150 workers were carrying out day two of the strike to demand fair pay and equal treatment, the statement added.
UWU food and beverage co-ordinator Adam Auld said workers were not being offered a fair wage increase in the face of the cost-of-living crisis.
'Wage offers with a 3 or a 4 in front of them just don't cut it in the face of food, housing, medical, petrol, school and care costs,' he said.
'This strike should send a clear message to senior management that workers need real wage increases and respect at a time of chronic financial stress for families.'
Almost 15,000 Coles chocolate mudcakes are baked in the North Altona factory each day.
Workers are also disputing nightshift allowances, claiming they are receiving 19 per cent while colleagues at other Allied Pinnacle worksites are taking home 30 per cent.
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