Inghams workers to strike in SA and WA over pay, sparking concerns over chicken shortage
The action is expected to impact fast food chains as well as supermarkets Woolworths and Aldi.


Hundreds of workers at Ingham factories will go on strike from midnight
(Source: 7NEWS)
September 21 2023

Fast food chains and retailers are facing a potential chicken shortage with hundreds of workers at a poultry giant set to follow through on a threat to strike over pay on Friday.   

Inghams employees at factories in WA and South Australia will walk off the job from 12.01am for 24 hours, with the United Workers Union flagging further action could be on the cards over the following days if negotiations don’t progress.

Workers have demanded a wage rise of six per cent over the coming three years to deal with cost-of-living pressures, but say the offer on the table falls well short of that.   




The strike is expected to impact fast food chains including McDonald’s and KFC, as well as supermarkets Woolworths and Aldi.

The UWU said Inghams, one of the country’s largest poultry producers, could afford to deal with workers after the company’s net profits surged by 72 per cent in the 2023 financial year to $60.4 million.

KFC, McDonald’s and supermarkets could face chicken shortage

“Seventy-eight thousand chickens are processed at this facility (in Perth) on average, daily,” union spokesperson Louise Gillon said.

“That will have impacts in Aldi, Woolworths, Coles, KFC. The workers here produce a chicken that goes all over the state and yes, there will be huge impacts.”

An Inghams representative said the company had been working in good faith to finalise new enterprise agreements.

“It is disappointing that it has become necessary to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“We are working closely with our customers and do not anticipate any interruption to supply during this time.”

It is understood Woolworths is not anticipating any impact on in-store supply from the one-day of action.

Workers will rally outside factories in Osborne Park in Perth and Burton in Adelaide on Friday.

Parmis in peril as chicken workers strike at Inghams
Updated September 22 2023
Goldburn Post
The strikes could limit the supply of chickens to food outlets such as KFC and McDonald's.
Workers have gone on strike over claims of paltry pay at poultry producer Inghams, raising fears of a shortage of cheap chooks at the checkout.

More than 1000 Australian Workers' Union (AWU) and Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) members stopped work for 24 hours at the company's Bolivar site in South Australia and at Osborne Park in Western Australia on Friday in pursuit of a six per cent per annum pay rise over three years.


Inghams produces about 40 per cent of Australia's chickens and supplies brands such as McDonald's, KFC and Woolworths.

"Given a live supply chain, prolonged industrial action would be quite disruptive and begin to impact Inghams' ability to supply chickens to its customers," E&P Capital retail analyst Phillip Kimber said in a note to investors.

Mr Kimber expects the parties to reach a compromise, with annual pay rises falling somewhere between the union's claims and management's offer of between 3.45 per cent and 3.9 per cent per year.


AWU national secretary Tim Kennedy cried fowl over Inghams treating workers "with contempt" while chief executive Andrew Reeves banked a 9 per cent pay rise.

"We know that Inghams is an extremely profitable company and that those profits have more than doubled in recent times, so why is it that the workers who show up to do a difficult job are asked to cop paltry wages?" Mr Kennedy said in a statement.     

"An extra $1.50-per-hour will barely even register on Inghams' bottom line and workers won't be running out buying yachts or enjoying champagne dinners as a result, but they might just be able to keep up with increased housing costs without falling below the poverty line."


The union has warned the company of further strike action if demands for an improved wage offer are not met. 

Inghams has been contacted for comment.

Jasin wrote on Sep 23^rd, 2023 at 6:25pm:

I did a quick check of this (having never heard of
the US company Aviagen) but couldn't find anything
confirming this.

Maybe it was only a proposal by Aviagen that was
knocked back by the Ingham family?

Unions confirm Inghams strike will continue if no deal is reached   
Relations between chicken supplier Inghams and striking unions have broken down and now the Fair Work Commission has stepped in.


News.com.au
September 25, 2023

Chicken shortages loom across Australia as union workers pledge to keep the facilities of major poultry supplier Inghams shut down over an escalating pay dispute.

The strike action kicked off on Friday with a 24-hour work stoppage at Inghams’ West Australian operations and a rolling shutdown in South Australia has continued into Monday.

Claire Lewis, a union organiser at the company’s Bolivar plant in Adelaide, confirmed the strike action would extend through the week if an agreement could not be reached.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and United Workers Union want a 6 per cent pay increase for workers each year for the next three years.

The United Workers Union has shut down Inghams’ Bolivar chicken processing plant in Adelaide’s north.

The Fair Work Commission is mediating talks between the unions and Inghams on Monday.

Workers at Inghams’ West Australian plants are working on Monday but a stoppage will be called at midnight if the FWC talks break down.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas is backing the industrial action.

“These are low-paid workers often from migrant communities who have come to Australia to do work that a lot of other people frankly wouldn’t consider,” Mr Malinauskas told ABC Radio Adelaide on Monday.

ASX-listed Inghams has a market capitalisation of $1.25bn and supplies chicken to Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, KFC, McDonald’s and Subway.


On Friday, a KFC spokesman confirmed the fast-food icon was working on “contingency plans” with Inghams to maintain supply to its West Australian and South Australian stores.

“While the strike is taking place, we don’t expect any impact to chicken supply across our restaurants,” he said.

Inghams has been contacted for comment.

After a five day strike, Inghams Chickens’ workers win better pay and conditions   

September 28, 2023
Green Left Weekly


Workers on the picket line in WA. Photo: United Workers Union/Facebook
After five days of industrial action, Inghams Chickens came back to the United Workers Union (UWU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) with a better pay offer and improved working conditions.

Workers at Inghams in Bolivar, South Australia and Osborne Park in Western Australia are some of the country’s lowest paid workers. They went on strike on September 22 after the company put forward 3.9% in the first year and 3.5% in subsequent years. Around 1000 union members at both sites rejected Ingham’s sub-inflation offer.   

See also
Inghams Chickens workers strike for a decent pay rise
Inghams came back with another offer of 5.12% rise in the first year, with back pay and 4% rises in subsequent years, full back pay, better conditions for labour hire workers and improved breaks. The UWU said the pay rises mean an average additional $100 a week.

“Importantly the workers have won respect,” the UWU said. “Inghams has recognised that the disrespectful and unfair treatment of workers needs to end and committed to an external audit to investigate the behaviour of senior management across both states.”

Throughout the bargaining period, workers were told they would not receive back pay if they took industrial action. “They were told that they would never get more than a 3% deal, but they have received an effective pay rise of over 5% in their first year and 4% for years 2 and 3.

“They were told they’d never stand united, but they are more united than ever, at each site and across state borders.”

The workers resumed their regular shift times on September 27. UWU National Secretary Tim Kennedy commended the workers. “I feel like I am in a pretty good position to tell grand final watchers across the country that Hot and Crispy KFC and chicken parmi is back on the menu.

“The workers that kept Australia fed during COVID-19 took a pretty admirable stance just over a week ago and because they stuck together, they’re now going to have a nice little bonus ahead of Christmas holidays.

“This is what union does and what union is; workers taking control of their own destiny in the face of huge challenges. Now they walk back in with their heads held high and it was a privilege to be able to support them in their determination.”   

He thanked the AMWU Australian Manufacturing Workers Union WA and every unionist, politician and community member who supported the strikers.

“Without knowing they had that support workers could never have kept going.”

Also. If the illusion of it being Inghams (to sell Australian patriotism to customers) rather than American Aviagen - then the give away is this wage dispute as American business is to make Australians work for American wages.
Something a lot of Australian artists learned when working for Disney here in Australia.