{"id":4795,"date":"2024-02-20T03:43:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T03:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amieuvic.net\/?page_id=4795"},"modified":"2026-03-06T14:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T04:47:19","slug":"our-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/amieuvic.net\/vi\/our-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Story<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Meatworkers have enjoyed a history and a culture of unionism<\/h3>
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This has been built over many years and has continued from generation to generation. Work in meatworks and associated workplaces has always been physically hard, dangerous and skilful. Without the strength of organized labour it would undoubtedly be more dangerous and have stayed poorly paid as well.<\/p>\n

Most of the conditions and wages many now enjoy were the result of the unity and industrial action (strikes etc) of workers over many years before them. All the major sheds through the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties were one hundred percent unionised and were therefore able to put up a united front against powerful employers who would otherwise have exploited them. In Victoria particularly, the AMIEU led the way in the establishment of industrial awards, which many now take for granted. Things like equal pay for women, long service leave, Superannuation, redundancy, annual leave, sick leave and public holidays were established and developed by the union, backed up with united industrial pressure.<\/p>\n

The demise of many of the large meatworks came about for two main reasons. Firstly the advent of live sheep exports, which undermined the employment base of the small stock processing industry, and secondly many of the large processing companies such as Angliss, Borthwicks, Smorgans and V.I.M.C.O. refused to make the necessary capital expenditure to modernize their works up to the required export standards.<\/p>\n

This in turn led to a proliferation of smaller less organized works.\u00a0 Some of these remain without proper union organisation. Swan Hill, Tongala and Warrnambool are examples of these. Conditions and wages in these abattoirs and others have fallen behind those that now have Enterprise Agreements based on the old Victorian Meatworks and Bi Products Award, which was established on the back of the workers\u2019 efforts in the sheds that were in the VMA in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. There are now huge differentials in wages earned between unionised sheds and non-unionised sheds.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Some of the conditions enjoyed by those with Registered Agreements include:<\/strong><\/p>\n

13 rostered days off per year
\nPro rata long service leave after 5 years on termination, or 7\u00bd years if you resign.
\n17.5 % loading on Annual Leave.
\nAt least 30 weeks make up pay for WorkCover recipients.
\nRedundancy up to 26 weeks.
\nCompassionate Leave.
\nPublic Holidays.
\n10 days sick leave with the right to be paid for any unclaimed sick leave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These are only a few examples of the difference between entitlements in fully organized union factories and those that are not.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Other Advantages of Being in the Union<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as the obvious difference in wages and conditions between Union sheds and others, there are many benefits from being in the Union along with all your workmates.<\/p>\n

You can have effective representation and advice if you are subject to discrimination or unfair dismissal. You will get free advice on WorkCover, leave accruals and termination pay.<\/em><\/p>\n

The union had its own superannuation fund that was established in 1980, long before there was any legislative entitlements to superannuation.
\nThe fund has merged with Care Super from September 2025.<\/p>\n

If your workplace is fully unionised you can elect your own delegates and Occupational Health and Safety representatives who are entitled to paid leave whilst they are trained on a meat industry-specific training course, organized through the AMIEU and Victorian Trades Hall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once fully unionised, if your workplace is large, you can build a Shop Committee to co-ordinate the Union\u2019s activities at your workplace on behalf of the members.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Union Officials<\/strong>
\nThe Union has a full-time organiser; Paul Conway \u2013 as well as Branch Secretary Adam Blyth and Assistant Secretary Baden Collisson. These officials are available to assist members.<\/p>\n

Legal Advice<\/strong>
\nThe Union also has legal firms that provide advice and representation when appropriate. In Melbourne and suburbs; western in Geelong, Warrnambool, Portland, Ararat, Horsham and Colac; east in Dandenong, Ringwood and Traralgon; and north in Mildura and Wangaratta; Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have a\u00a0working relationship with the Union.<\/p>\n

The Union can offer many tales of exploitation, harassment, discrimination, underpayment, bullying and even criminal assault against workers by their employers. Being in the Union will not in itself prevent these things happening, although the frequency of such incidents is vastly lower in fully unionised workplaces. What being in the Union will do is give you advice, protection and the ability to stand up to your boss if he or she tries to take advantage of the employer\/employee relationship in any way.<\/p>\n

The balance of power in this relationship has always been with the employer. In recent years attacks on workers\u2019 rights by both Federal and Victorian Liberal\/National Party Governments have seen the balance even more heavily weighted to the boss.<\/p>\n

It is more important now than ever to join the Union and talk to your workmates about doing the same. You will be amazed what can be achieved in your workplace if every worker at your works joins the Union.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our StoryMeatworkers have enjoyed a history and a culture of unionism This has been built over many years and has continued from generation to generation. Work in meatworks and associated workplaces has always been physically hard, dangerous and skilful. Without the strength of organized labour it would undoubtedly be more dangerous and have stayed poorly…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\nOur Story - Amieuvic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amieuvic.net\/vi\/our-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"vi_VN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/amieuvic.net\/vi\/our-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amieuvic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-06T04:47:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u01af\u1edbc t\u00ednh th\u1eddi gian \u0111\u1ecdc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 ph\u00fat\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/amieuvic.net\/our-story\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/amieuvic.net\/our-story\/\",\"name\":\"Our Story - 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