Victorian dairy workers say they want to ‘keep communities alive’ amid industrial dispute

Dairy processing workers on strike outside the Saputo factory in Allansford, western Victoria, on Wednesday 18 October. Photograph: United Workers Union

For the last 40 years, David Clements has worked as a machine operator at the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter factory at Allansford, 10km out of Warrnambool in western Victoria.

The business was taken over by Canadian dairy giant Saputo in 2017. A few years later, workers renegotiated their first enterprise bargaining agreement with the new owners, agreeing to a 2.5% annual pay increase for three years.