Winery workers strike at Rowlands Flat in the Barossa. Images courtesy United Workers Union
By Meg Riley
More than 120 workers at a Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ winery went on strike yesterday afternoon, stopping work for four hours to discuss the “future of their jobs”.
The Rowland Flat facility in South Australia’s Barossa Valley produces Jacob’s Creek and St Hugo – brands which have made headlines recently after Pernod Ricard signed an agreement to sell its wine brands and assets across Australia, New Zealand and Spain to Australian Wine Holdco Limited (AWL), the consortium that owns Accolade Wines.
The union representing the winery workers said ambiguity around the impact of this deal had left many workers feeling “uncertain” during a cost-of-living crisis. Enterprise agreement negotiations began on 30th April.
“Pernod Ricard is trying to use the sale of its Australian businesses to force a short-term, low-wage deal on workers who are in the middle of enterprise bargaining,” said the United Workers Union (UWU) in an alert to media.
The union said that Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ Australian CEO Bryan Fry visited the Barossa processing site, but left workers with “more questions than answers” about their futures.
“The union is still currently bargaining with Pernod Ricard,” the UWU told Daily Wine News this morning.
“Yesterday, the winery workers endorsed further stoppages, the first of which starts next Tuesday (30/07) for 24 hours, from 12:01am Tuesday.”
UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said a fair deal would be vital to maintain “decent” jobs on which he said regional South Australian communities depend.
“I’m tasting key notes of corporate greed,” said Kennedy.
“Profits have been driven by rising prices, yet winery workers haven’t been given a comparable pay rise.
“Whilst the CEO at Pernod Ricard sits on an eye-watering salary, workers are struggling to pay their bills.
“These winery jobs sustain our regional communities. For every dollar that is earned, it goes right back into the local community.”
The UWU cited Pernod Ricard’s global net profit of $5.6 billion in 2023, noting that the global CEO pocketed $3.7 million in 2022, however these figures are reflective of Pernod Ricard’s global performance and are not specific to its wine or Australian divisions, with wine brands contributing only 4% to Pernod Ricard’s total revenue.
“Over the last 3 years, CPI has gone up almost 16% and Pernod Ricard workers’ wages have gone up a mere 7% – it is clear that inflation has massively outstripped these workers’ wages,” said the union.
Pernod Ricard Winemakers indicated that the industrial action would not negatively impact its business.
“We truly believe that we have provided a fair and reasonable offer to our employees and are disappointed that we have been unable to reach an agreement at this stage,” said a spokesperson for Pernod Ricard Winemakers. “This action will not affect production and will have no material impact on our business.”
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