On behalf of the Greens, I want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to workers at the Saputo Burnie facility on achieving pay parity with their mainland counterparts.
The determination of these workers has been remarkable. They were on strike for 20 weeks with no pay, but throughout this process they stayed strong and united, fighting for what is fair and right.
Big credit must also go to the unions representing these workers, the CEPU and the AMWU. Their campaign for pay parity has been so powerful, and this is a huge victory.
The Greens have been proud to support this push for equal pay. We put a motion to the Tasmanian Parliament in August backing pay parity, and it was great to see it received unanimous support.
This matter should never have gone on for so long, and clearly Saputo were doing their best to avoid doing the right thing. But in the end this corporation was no match for the commitment and dedication from workers and all those supporting them.
This is such a fantastic outcome, and we hope there are some great celebrations in Burnie tonight.
