Sacked over paperwork for five loaves of bread

by Bob Briton

Deliveries of Buttercup bread were disrupted in Adelaide last week when 
drivers employed by the bread-making division of trans-Tasman food 
conglomerate Goodman Fielder called a snap 24-hour strike.

Drivers walked off the job last Wednesday when they learned that a driver 
with an eight-year unblemished work record had been instantly dismissed.

At issue was his failure to complete the paperwork required when he left 
five sample loaves at a retail outlet.

As Chris Field of the Australian Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous 
Workers Union (LHMU) pointed out, representatives of the company's middle 
management regularly promote the bakery's products in the same way without 
completing the relevant records.

The drivers' prompt response to the company's ruthlessness and double 
standards obliged management to hire taxi trucks and deliver some of the 
bread themselves.

Only a fraction of the deliveries were made and many of those were hours 
later than usual. The company then referred the dispute to the Industrial 
Relations Commission.

At the IRC's request the sacked worker was reinstated but suspended on full 
pay while negotiations between Goodman Fielder and the LHMU continued.

Either party was to be free to refer the matter back to the IRC in the 
event that discussions break down. Goodman Fielder also took on board a 
recommendation that it should review its disciplinary procedures.

At a meeting of workers held at 4am the following morning, drivers voted 
for a return to work pending the satisfactory outcome of negotiations. So 
ended another instance of the outrageous abuse of bosses' power that is 
becoming a feature of present day industrial relations.

As the LHMU Assistant Secretary pointed out to the local media, this was 
the second time in three weeks that the workers at a major Adelaide 
workplace had been forced to take this type of action in support of a 
sacked colleague.

Workers at Bridgestone walked of the job for 48 hours on May 14 after an 
employee was sacked for arriving late.

At least two trends are becoming obvious from recent events such as these: 
that at the same time that the bosses are getting bolder in their disregard 
for the welfare of their employees, more and more workers are now prepared 
to take action to preserve job security and a modicum of humane treatment 
in the workplace.